Naruto Shippuden: Allied Forces vs Akatsuki
by nawirama13
Summary: Takes place after manga chapter 466/shippuden anime episode 204. Different conclusion of 5 Kage Summit, followed by the Alliance's fight against the Akatsuki. Pairings appear eventually: NaruHina, ShikaTem, NejiTen, IruAnko...
1. The Eye of the Moon Plan

This story takes place after chapter 466 of the Manga. It will include Anime and Game references though. It will extend until the end of Part II.

The chapters until the end of the Five Kage Summit Arc will have some similarities with the manga, but from then on the story will differ.

Lastly, **I don't own Naruto**. The original story and characters are all part of the magnificient work Kishi-sensei has done over the last decade.

Also, check my other story - "Bleach: Everything is Obtained"

* * *

Chapter 1 - The Eye of the Moon Plan

* * *

"Shouldn't I go with you? You'll need someone to track down Naruto when you reach the Land of Iron, Sakura." Kiba tried to reason with the medical-nin. Both of them were coming near the front gate, along with Shikamaru and Neji.

"There's no need for it. They must be travelling by the main roads, I'll get to them eventually." Sakura explained her motives to the trio of shinobi. "I want to...I need to talk to him by myself."

"What are you talking about? It's too dangerous for anyone of us to travel such a large distance all by himself! You..."

"Let her go, Kiba." Neji interrupted the Inuzuka clan member, who stared back at him with a scandalized look on his face.

"Sigh...Do what you must, Sakura but..." Shikamaru stared at her with a stern look. "...be careful with the approach you use with him."

"Right..." Sakura frowned as she got the message and then Shikamaru turned his back to return to the village.

"Wait a sec, Shikamaru! Where are you...? Huh? You too, Neji?" Kiba shouted as Neji immediately followed the Chunin. Soon after, Sakura was already passing through the gates leaving a frozen Kiba in his place.

"What's the matter?" Neji asked as he heard Shikamaru sighing again.

"All Ino could do was cry, but Sakura sure seems prepared." Shikamaru explained. "I don't know what she's going to tell Naruto...but I hope she does it the right way."

"Sakura's been thinking about this a lot." Neji remembered.

"Anyway...I want to keep Sakura's absence a secret. It'll remain between us both, Kiba and Sai."

"Sai too?" Neji asked.

"Yeah...While she's searching for them, we've got to make sure Root doesn't interfere. We'll need Sai for that." Shikamaru explained but Neji still supported an aprehensive look on his face. "We can thrust him. He did so on us by telling us about the appearence of the Kumo-nins. By the way, that must remain a secret too, a secret between us and Sai."

"Kiba will remain out of this one?" Neji asked as he felt Kiba reaching them, to which Shikamaru only nodded.

* * *

"Look what you've done!" The owner of the inn was shouting in the middle of the street, after seeing the damage done by the shinobi who were inside of the house minutes before. "This is why I hate shinobis!"

"S-sorry...I'll fix everything..." The embarassed Yamato assured to the inn's owner.

"_What is Naruto thinking now?" _Kakashi wondered as he stared to the wood pillars previously created by Yamato, where Naruto was seated.

**Flashback**

"Sasuke has taken on the hatred of the entire clan...and he will inflict that curse's hatred on the world. Hatred is his greates weapon, his friend...and his strength."

(...)

"Sasuke chose it himself."

**End of Flashback**

"I guess...I'll just have to ask him myself." Naruto decided after remembering Madara's earlier words. Then, he closed his eyes, while remaining still to initiate a Sage Mode training session.

"Oi, Naruto!" Kakashi called, causing Naruto to lose his focus. "There's no time for training. Come down so that Yamato fixes the damage we've done."

"It's not like we have somewhere to go..." The upset Naruto said as he landed by Kakashi's side.

"In fact, we have." Kakashi said as he pointed to the sky. To Naruto's surprise, a large cloud of smoke was covering it in the direction Kakashi was pointing. "It seems something went wrong in the summit..."

* * *

"Looks like the Raikage and Kazekage have gone up above." Jugo stated as he and Suigetsu reached the corridor that leaded into the building where the summit was occuring.

"Sasuke and Karin seem to have abandoned us. Shall we go upstairs, too?" Suigetsu asked to his remaining partner.

"They'll be on guard. We'll get caught right away." Jugo remembered.

"Yeah, but...I have a plan." Suigetsu said as he stared into the samurai that had been defeated earlier by Zetsu's clones.

* * *

"Looks like Shi was right and the Hokage got away!" Ë Yotsuki, the Fourth Raikage, shouted as he stepped into the middle of the half destroyed room where the Kage Summit had been held. Behind him, Mifune stabbed the last White Zetsu in the head with his katana. A large amount of smoke was raising to the outside, from the place where Mei Terumi, the Mizukage, had been fighting earlier. In front of him, Madara was helding the responsible for all the chaos over his right shouler.

"Yes...thanks to Sasuke." The levitating Onoki clarified. Then, it didn't even take two seconds. The lightning infused Ë charged towards Madara and attempted to punch him with his remaining hand, but he passed right through him. The punch had more than enough strength to make a large hole on the wall behind the Akatsuki leader. In order to protect Sasuke's body from any other possible attacks of the Yondaime Raikage, Madara used his jutsu to apparently suck Sasuke into the hole of his mask.

"_Sasuke!" _The afraid Karin silently called as Sasuke completely disappeared.

"No plan of Akatsuki's...can be anything good! Don't bother explaining!" Ë shouted as he came out of the mountain of rubble by him created. "Bring Sasuke back!"

"Then listen to me and depending on your answer, I might." Madara offered.

"Calm down, Raikage. It won't hurt to listen to him." Onoki of Both Scales told to his fellow Kage, as soon as he appeared by his side.

"Go heal Sasuke." Madara ordered, as out of nowhere he appeared behind Karin, much to her shock and of the ones who were closer to her: Darui and Mei Terumi. Karin screeched as she was warped as well to the hole in the orange mask of Madara.

* * *

"Where are we?" Karin asked as both her and the unconscious Sasuke were in the middle of a strange dark room that was composed by many pillars, with them both being on top of one of them.

* * *

"So that's Madara's power?" Kankuro asked.

"He can manipulate the space-time continuum..." Temari quickly analyzed.

"Now...are you willing to list to me, ladies and gentlemen?" Madara asked as he jumped to the horizontal wood pillar that was slightly above from the hole previously opened in a wall by Mei.

"Ladies and gentlemen?" The incredulous Gaara asked.

"It's rare for anyone to awaken Susanoo. I wanted him to improve his skills in a battle with the Five Kages. That's why I sent him here." Madara started by explaining Sasuke's appearance at the summit. "I also thought to weaken the Kages to the point they could be taken as hostages, but it looks like that's still out of Sasuke's reach."

"Hostages? What for?" Mei asked.

"To make my Moon's Eye plan go more smoothly." Madara simply added.

"I can't believe Madara Uchiha is really still alive..." Onoki admitted. "Why is someone of your caliber going about this in such a roundabout manner? As powerful as you are, you should be able to execute any plan without a hitch."

"The...wound...inflicted by the First Hokage, Hashirama, was too great...I am now a mere shell of my former self." Madara admitted in a quite distant tone of voice.

"So this...is a plan to return you to your former strength?" Shi tried to guess.

"Hmm...You could say that, but it isn't all." Madara said after a short moment, seeming like he suddenly snapped from his thoughts.

"What are you plotting? Just what is this Moon's Eye Plan?" Mifune demanded an answer.

"I want to take my time explaining...Have a seat please." Madara offered as he himself decided to sit on the pillar he was standing in.

"He asked what the plan was!" The furious Kankuro shouted. To everyone's surprise, Madara lifted his left index finger.

"Everything will become one with me! It will be a perfect union. I will be complete." Madara announced.

"Become one? A perfect union? What do you mean?" Onoki asked.

"I'm able to use a certain jutsu...A one of a kind in fact."

"A certain jutsu? What is it? What are you planning to do?" The impacient Onoki insisted.

"All Uchiha with a fully matured Sharingan are able to cast a hypnotic genjutsu that enables them to take control of a person's actions. Demonic Illusion: Hypnotic Wheel is the name. There were some members of the clan that were able to cast it in more than one person at the same time. The last one was...what was his name again? Uh, Sarui...Sasui...Ah, Shisui I think."

"It matches with what Ao told us. Danzo was using the Sharingan of Shisui Uchiha to control Mifune earlier." Mei remembered everyone.

"Still, this isn't the jutsu you meant, right?" Gaara asked.

"_Ahh, so they know about Shisui's right eye being with Danzo huh?" _Madara thought to himself before continuing. "That's right, young Kazekage. The jutsu I meant is the most powerful illusion ever, Mugen Tsukuyomi.

"Mugen...Tsukuyomi?" Shi nervously asked, as he remembered his fight against Sasuke. "_Could it be that there's a genjutsu even more powerful than the one Sasuke casted on me? Something even more powerful than __Tsukuyomi__? Just the idea is..."_

"You changed the subject! What does this jutsu have to do with your plan?" The Raikage shouted as he destroyed the remainings of the wooden table in the center of the room.

"Mugen Tsukuyomi is a combination of that jutsu I just spoke of awhile ago with the Mangekyo Sharingan's exclusive Tsukuyomi." Madara revealed, at the same time that he crossed his arms over his chest. "For those of you that don't know, Tsukuyomi is an illusion that enables the user to control time and space. In the world created by that illusion, the most terrifying things can be done for hours, days, even years if the one who casted it is strong enough."

"I don't like where this is headed..." Kankuro interrupted the founder of the Uchiha Clan. "...so if Tsukuyomi's user controls whatever happens inside that illusion...could you cast other jutsus inside that world you created?"

"Sharp analysis...Yes, that could happen but only in one's mind, since Tsukuyomi is still only an illusion. However, in that illusion, one can watch himself being the victim of the same painful jutsu for a large amount of time, until his mind eventually breaks. It would do wonders to have one Tsukuyomi user in every intel squad, but...that's not possible now is it?" Madara asked, as he finally stood once again. "You should give your brother a promotion, Gaara-kun. He already understood what my plan is."

"You did, Kankuro?" The incredulous Temari asked.

"He wants to cast that mind-controlling hypnosis inside the world of Tsukuyomi!" Kankuro revealed to the shock of everyone else. "That jutsu must have some kind of restriction like time or the fact it may be needed eye contact as slight as it may be, I don't know that! But by casting Tsukuyomi first, he can create the illusion that he's casting the hypnotic jutsu, when in fact he isn't, so the restritions don't apply. He will be able to control whichever person he wants to for as long as he can sustain Tsukuyomi."

"Moon's Eye Plan, huh? Then, what did you meant by taking us as hostages, Madara?" Onoki shouted as he had a slight idea of Madara's plans.

"Isn't it clear? I'll take control over the Five Kages, and therefore, I'll take control of every single shinobi of the Five Great Villages. With those numbers under my command, none of the smaller countries will be able to stand up to me, and once I take control of this continent, I'll spread my power towards the other side of the ocean, conquering every resistance that appears in the same way I'll conquer you simple-minded people. And then..." Everyone stared in both fear and shock to Madara as finished the explanation of his plan. "...when everyone is under my illusion, the world will become one! A world without ill will or strife! Everything will be one with me! Everything will be united... That's my Moon's Eye Plan!"

"You gotta be kidding! I won't just hand over the world to you!" Ë immediately shouted.

"Peace under an illusion is not true peace. It's only meaningful if the real world manages to accomplish it." Gaara countered.

"What does that hold for us? There's no hopes or dreams! It's just an escape!" Mei added.

"Make the world one...Danzo said something similar, but...In your case, it sounds more like you just want to make the world yours!" Onoki accused.

"Ahahah! And what have you Five Kages been able to accomplish? You must understand that there's no hope!" Madara shouted, causing silence to return to the conference room. "Hope is nothing more than resignation...that is what is not real! Just hand over the Hachibi and the Kyubi and cooperate with my plan!"

"The Eight-Tails? What do you mean? You already took Bee!" Ë shouted in disbelief.

"We failed to capture the Eight-Tails...He is the perfect host. I'd expect nothing less of your brother." Madara complimented.

"Oh, I knew it...I just had this feeling..." Darui commented as he saw the Raikage with his right arm hanged down, his eyes blank and his mouth opened. Feeling he was about to erupt, Shi sighed.

"That fool! We used this as an excuse to leave the village and gallivant about! I won't let him get away with this! IRON CLAW!" Ë furiously shouted.

"I don't get it! If this is your plan, then why have you been collecting the Tailed Beasts? Why do you still want them?" Temari asked.

"It's not like I have the chakra to sustain a genjutsu that will control so many people at the same time. Considering that the Tailed Beasts are creatures purely made of chakra, I'll..."

"I won't let you take Naruto Uzumaki!" Gaara furiously interrupted the leader of Akatsuki. To the surprise of the latter, sand pushed its way out of Gaara's gourd and swirled around its owner. "I don't care if you're Madara Uchiha or not! Even if you were the legendary Sage of the Six Paths! I won't let you take him!"

"Still able to control Shukaku's sand? That's a surprise...A new Bloodline was born, it seems." Madara commented, causing some of the people in the room to change his surprise from Madara to Gaara. "

**Flashback**

"What will happen to me, Elder Ebizou?" Gaara asked to the adviser. The last Jinchuriki of Shukaku was still wearing the black clothes to honor Granny Chiyo's death.

"While I'm still not sure, I would say you are now the bearer of a new Kekkei Genkai." Ebizou revealed his opinion, causing Gaara's eyes to open wide. "There has always been the theory that all Bloodline Limits are born from the interaction of humans with demons. Some say that happens when the soul of the demon sealed inside the human dissipates and lets its chakra and abilities to his last vessel. Others say that it happens when a Jinchuriki has a child."

"And in what do you believe?"

"I have to agree with both..." Ebizou said after he pondered for awhile. "I know living cases of shinobi that have Kekkei Genkais because they were born in the same clan as a former Jinchuriki. Take the example of the new Mizukage. Her Lava Style is a characteristic of the Four-Tailed Monkey and back in the day that Biju was sealed in a member of the Terumi clan."

"But that's not my case." Gaara remembered.

"Right. Your seems more like the first theory I presented you."

"But Shukaku's soul didn't dissipate. He was just taken out from me. He must still be alive."

"Yes but the demon is gone now." Gaara nodded as he was starting to understand Ebizou's point. "You're the first I remember to come out alive of a Biju's extraction, Gaara. And even though you've lost his chakra, his abilities are still of use to you."

"But it's so hard to do it now." Gaara frowned as he extended his hand and only a tiny amount of sand swirled around it.

"Because you don't have Shukaku's help anymore. You'll have to master your Bloodline Limit on your own now." Ebizou informed the Fifth Kazekage. "You should name it, too. It would be nice to have something to call it."

"Hmm...It's a unique kind of chakra manipulation isn't it?" Gaara thoughtfully stared to the swirling sand before looking back to Ebizou who nodded. "A unique style...I think I have the name for it."

**End of Flashback**

"Sand Style: Sand Shower Barrage" Gaara unleashed a wave of hundreds of small sand bullets that advanced swiftly towards Madara, but all of those high speed bullets passed right through him.

"I may not be as powerful as I once was, but I still have more than enough power to take you on, Fifth Kazekage."

"I won't give up hope, Madara." Gaara lifted his hands and more sand bullets appeared in front of him before they were shot against Madara who remained in the same place. Gaara then stretched both his arms forward, before pulling back his right one. The bullets that had passed through Madara and had been stuck on the wall came back for him, while the new ones' speed increased.

"You should just give up being...huh?" To Madara's surprise, even though the bullets passed through him without harming him, they were clashing against eachother and piling on top of one another, raising a column around Madara in the process. "He came up with this just after one glance at my intangibility?"

"Sand Style: Sand Burial" Gaara moved his hand and the sand column imploded, but to his surprise, as the sand fell, nothing was there.

"I won't give up either...not again!" Mei shouted and performed two hand seals, before spitting what seemed like a water needle. Madara had just warped behind Gaara and was about to punch him from behind when the needle passed through him but so did his right fist through Gaara. The former Jinchuriki turned but Madara had just warped away again.

"What about you, Raikage?" Onoki asked in a defiant tone.

"Like I would let him have my brother!" Ë roared before a lightning armor enveloped him once again.

"_A needle of boiling water spat at incredible speed. One second later and I would have been caught by it." _Madara thought as he returned to the wood pillar he was standing earlier, when he managed to rescue Sasuke. Out of nowhere though, Onoki appeared in front of him. "Damn you and your flight jutsu, Onoki!"

"No time to talk, Madara! Dust Style: Detachment of..." As Onoki was about to release his jutsu on Madara, his eyes opened wide and the jutsu stopped.

"Get out of the way, old man!" Ë shouted as he jumped to appear behind Onoki, who suddenly turned and unleashed the cube in his hands to the Raikage's gut, sending him crashing against the ground.

"No! Raikage-sama!" Darui shouted as the smoke raised by the impact didn't let him see his leader. As the smoke cleared, Ë has lying on the ground hurt but still conscious.

"Damn it! What's the meaning of this?" Ë asked as he slowly got on his right knee.

"It seems as the Third Tsuchikage had a change of heart." Madara chuckled while Onoki charged another cube of Dust chakra. "_Old fool has become even faster than he once was!"_

"He got him already!" Mei shouted as she realized the motive of Onoki's actions.

"_This is dangerous!" _Gaara turned to the crowd of shinobi behind him and came up with a solution. "You guys have to go after Danzo, now!"

"What? After Danzo? What is this all about Gaara?" Temari asked to her brother.

"That Ao is following them all alone! He'll need backup! Go!"

"But, Gaara..."

"I'm the Kazekage, damn it! You just obey to my orders!" Gaara quickly interrupted Kankuro.

"Gaara..." Temari had to bite her lower lip, so that she could turn her back on her younger brother. "Damn it, let's go Kankuro!"

"Huh? What..." Kankuro continued to protest while Temari pulled him by his wrist.

"You guys too." Ë said as he finally got to his feet.

"I see...You're the only ones with a chance to win, but if we stay and get under his control, things will be a lot harder." Mifune stated, before turning to his bodyguards. "Okisuke, Urakaku, let's go! You guys should come too! You'll only get in the way!"

"Is this alright with you, Raikage-sama?" Shi asked as he saw the three samurais leaving.

"Go!" Ë simply ordered.

"Be sure you win, Raikage-sama!" Darui shouted as he followed his partner, Shi.

"Sh-should I go...or per-perhaps stay...maybe..."

"Go too, Chojuro! I can't let you get hurt!" Mei shouted to her bodyguard, who suddenly lowered his head, as if he was struggling within himself.

"I'm the one who's supposed to protect you! Not the other way around! I'll, I'll stay Mizukage-sama, even if..." Chojuro's speech was cut short as Akatsuchi lifted him by his torso and held him under his right arm.

"Please, bring Tsuchikage-jiisama back, ok?" A saddened Akatsuchi asked to the remaining Kages and left after all of them nodded.

"_This works even better! I'll just have to get them one at the time." _Madara thought as he analyzed each of the remaining Kages one by one. "Onoki, go after the Raikage!"

"Tsk! After the one who has been through the most first!" Mei started to perform a set of hand seals, but before she could end it, Gaara's sand had already formed a wall in front of both him and the Raikage. _"Good job, I wouldn't make it in time so..." _Mei slightly changed the set of hand seals so she could attack instead of defend. "Lava Style: Lava Globs"

"That won't work on us." Madara stated as he warped, while Onoki took the full hit, before his body turned into dust.

"A dust clone! Be careful of that!" Ë advised. In fact, the dust that once composed Onoki's body started to swirl before advancing towards Mei. To her surprise, a swirl of sand appeared in front of her and formed Gaara's body.

"Sand Style: Sand Tsunami" Gaara raised a giant wave of sand that blocked Onoki's dust and advanced towards the Tsuchikage. Unfortunately, the oldest active Kage simply took flight to avoid the massive attack.

"Aaah! My turn!" Ë shouted as he jumped from the sand under Onoki, in an attempt to hit a lightning-infused rising uppercut. However, while in the air, Onoki was faster than Ë and dodged before performing a set of seals.

"Wind Style: Dust Cloud" Onoki spat a stream of wind towards the sand that filled the entire room's floor, causing the sand to be lifted in a cloud that blocked the vision of both Gaara and Mei.

"Bastard! I'm not done yet!" Ë shouted as he tried to hit an axe handle like blow, but Onoki once again dodged and Ë started to fall, until Gaara emerged from the sand cloud in a floating platform of sand that intercepted Ë's fall and advanced towards the airborne Onoki.

"Try it again!" Gaara shouted.

"Right!" Ë shouted as he jumped from the sand platform and drove his fist into Onoki's gut, sending him crashing against the nearest wall. Gaara's platform once again intercepted Ë's fall but it started to give away.

"Damn! I'm losing the control!" Gaara shouted before the platform dispersed into loose sand, causing both the Kazekage and the Raikage to fall into the floor.

"Tsk, do something will ya?" Ë shouted as they were almost crashing. Gaara moved his hand and part of the sand that was on the ground as a result of his last attack formed a cushion for both to land in.

"I never thought I would lose the control like that. The truth is that I still haven't regained all of Shukaku's powers." Gaara, who was sweating a lot, admitted. Then, a screech caused both Kages to reach their feet. The sand cloud had dispersed and they saw Madara holding Mei by her throat. "_I couldn't take her out of there. Darn it!"_

"It seems your numbers are decreasing." Madara stated as he released the grip on the Mizukage. Mei, who had a blank look on her face, just passed by Madara and stared towards Gaara and Ë, while Onoki landed by her side before doing the same.

"He created a cushion, like the one you did, with his dust." Ë stated as he stared back at the wall from where Onoki had just came. "We're at a disadvantage here..."

"I know..." The concerned Gaara agreed as he stared into his unlikely opponents.

* * *

"_If I keep on like I have been, I'll never be able to find Sasuke..." _Naruto thought, as he followed both Kakashi and Yamato. "_I'll just have to get this over with, so that I can start in training to maintain Sage Mode for longer periods of time!"_

"Something seems to be going on ahead." Kakashi stated before lifting his headband, revealing his Sharingan.

"Aren't those from Suna?" Yamato asked as he saw the village insignia of both shinobi and kunoichi.

"They're...Gaara's siblings!" Naruto shouted as he recognized the aprehensive Temari and Kankuro.

* * *

I won't beg for reviews, but they're always welcome of course. As for the ideas, I have nearly 50 chapters written so far and the rest of part II already planned, but I'll read every single one and I can always change the story a bit.

I know there were some parts of this chapter that were copied from the manga (Suigetsu and Jugo's mainly), but it's only in these first chapters. From then on, I'll only use some elements like techniques and new characters, with the story going a completely different way from the manga.

**Next Chapter - **Kage Level: Huge Tag Team Battle

-Nawirama13

* * *

-NawiramaWikia- just some extra info

1. Jutsu:

1.1 - Demonic Illusion: Hypnotic Wheel - A Sharingan-only genjutsu, casted by eye contact. It is available to every Uchiha with a fully matured Sharingan. It consists in taking control over an individual's actions through hypnosis. Shisui Uchiha was one of the few known as being able to control more than one person at the same time with this jutsu. Other users include Madara Uchiha and Danzo Shimura, the latter through Shisui's right eye. Kakashi Hatake has also used this jutsu in his first fight against Zabuza Momochi, ordering him to do certain jutsus for Kakashi to copy them.

1.2 - Boil Style: Corrosive Spit - Mei spits a needle of boiling water that moves at an incredible speed. It easily corrodes a target's flesh.

1.3 - Dust Style: Flight Supporting Particles - Onoki controls minuscule particles of dust that lift him into the air and transport him through the sky at high speeds.

1.4 - Dust Style: Dust Clone Jutsu - A clone that when attacked dissolves into dust. That dust can be used to attack and, if a short distance from an opponent, can enter his mouth and nose in order to suffocate him.

1.5 - Wind Style: Dust Cloud - Onoki uses the same jutsu as Shima, one of the sage toads. The difference is that Shima adds Natural Energy to the jutsu, making it a large scale version.

2. Characters:

2.1 - Gaara - Gaara's Kekkei Genkai is the Sand Style. There has always been the theory that Gaara's sand came from an advanced chakra nature, especifically the combination of Wind and Earth. I was always a supporter of that theory, so that's something I'll include in this fanfic.

-nawirama13


	2. Kage Level: Huge Tag Team Battle

Chapter 2 - Kage Level: Huge Tag Team Battle!

* * *

"Ugh!" Kurotsuchi stared into the fallen white body in front of her with disgust. A rock dome was surrounding them. It was the method chosen by the Iwa kunoichi to protect herself from the large amount of rocks that had fallen earlier, a result of the appearance of Sasuke's Susanoo. As soon as the rock avalanche stopped, Zetsu's white half appeared from nowhere and tried to suck Kurotsuchi's chakra but she finished him swiftly before he could do so. "What the hell is with this guy? Gross!"

* * *

"This doesn't look like Danzo's trap. It must be Akatsuki's..." Ao thought to himself as the white body of Zetsu fell into the snow. The Mist Hunter-nin swiftly cleaned the kama he used to defeat Zetsu and put it back inside of his coat. "I'd better hurry..."

* * *

"It's a jutsu that activates chakra suppressed spores to parasitically drain the chakra of any living being." Fu explained after quickly observing the three white bodies layed in front of Danzo, Torune and himself.

"That's why you didn't notice it..." Torune concluded. "So, what about the one that was following us?"

"He's still on our trail...I don't know if he'll fall for the trap or not." Fu admitted.

"Your traps are special. He'll fall for it." Torune assured.

"I don't care if he's alive or dead. Just make sure you bring me his right eye." Danzo ordered.

"Yes, sir." Fu slightly bowed to Danzo, before turning to his Root partner. "Watch over my body, Torune."

"Now what?" Torune asked to Danzo, after stopping the suddenly unconscious Fu from falling to the snow.

"I'll tell you my plans when Fu returns." Danzo simply answered, while Torune lifted Fu's body and put him on his back so he could carry him.

* * *

"Naruto?" Kankuro couldn't believe that Naruto was in front of him. Also, he didn't knew if it was a good or a bad thing.

"What are you doing here?" The intrigued Kakashi asked but before any of the Sand Siblings could answer, a trio of samurai passed by them. Following them, came a pair of Kumo shinobi, that stopped and assumed defensive stances as they recognized the trio of Konoha shinobi.

"You guys again!" Shi shouted as he started a set of hand seals, only for Kankuro to stop him by grabbing both his wrists. "What is this?"

"Allies of the Sand, shinobi from the Leaf." Temari announced as she stepped between the Konoha and Kumo shinobi and stuck the tip of her iron fan into the ground, as if making a wall to separate them. "And among them the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox, Naruto Uzumaki. Also...the man who more than likely will assume the position of Sixth Hokage following Danzo's actions in today's summit, Kakashi of the Sharingan."

"Danzo's actions? What's going..." The confused Yamato was about to ask, until he saw a new pair reaching them.

"Is something wrong?" The still running Chojuro asked as he and Akatsuchi came closer to the group.

"No, just keep going. We'll follow you immediately." Kankuro assured and both shinobi nodded, passing by the group without stopping. "Danzo tried to take control of the meeting and got on the run once he was busted."

"So you're going after them, is it?" Kakashi asked and Kankuro nodded, before releasing Shi's hands. "We'll go with you then. It's our responsability as Konoha shinobi to imprison Konoha criminals, right guys?"

"Of course." Yamato nodded with a serious look on his face. Naruto didn't answer though. He had brought his right hand into his chest as he was feeling weird. The fact was that Naruto wasn't sure if he was feeling angry or afraid, but for some odd reason he couldn't take his eyes from the summit room's direction.

"I'm not going."

"What?" Some of them shouted as they heard Naruto refuse Kakashi's indirect order.

"I said I'm not going. I'm having a feeling similar to the one I had when we met Madara earlier." Naruto revealed to the shock of everyone.

"Madara? You met Madara Uchiha?" The incredulous Darui asked.

"Yeah...He came to make some threats and to talk about some weird stuff about becoming complete." Naruto quickly explained and Kakashi sighed as he was glad that Naruto didn't reveal the stuff they heard about Itachi and Sasuke. But still, Kakashi found it weird when no one questioned them about the truth of meeting the Madara Uchiha, who was supposed to be dead long ago.

"You guys don't seem all that surprised about Madara." Kakashi stated, in the hopes he could find something out.

"He appeared at the summit." Kankuro let out. "The Kages are fighting him as we speak."

"They what?" Naruto shouted.

"You shouldn't have told them." Temari whispered.

"It's alright..." Kankuro assured in a whisper as well. "They ordered us to leave. We don't have the time to explain it all but if we had stayed in there, it would be a lot worse."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto turned to his mentor, in hope he would let him go to the summit.

"Yamato...you go with these guys. I'll let you in charge of capturing Danzo." Kakashi told him but Yamato was about to disagree so he continued. "We've seen already that your style can't harm him. I still may be able to do something with my Sharingan."

"I know that but...if Akatsuki is going after the Jinchuriki then..."

"You sounded like Shizune now, Tenzo." Kakashi lightly reprimended him. "We know that Naruto in his regular state can't do anything against him but...we don't know how will it go with his new powers."

"_New powers, eh? That guy..." _Kankuro couldn't avoid to think that everytime he encountered Naruto, he always had a new trick in his sleeve.

"Eh, fine, sorry about that." Tenzo excused himself as he rubbed the back of his head, before turning to the Kazekage and Raikage's bodyguards. "I don't know about you guys but I'm a good tracker. My skills should be of great help to you."

"Then let's set off." Temari said and all nodded. The bodyguards and Yamato left, but one of the Raikage's bodyguards remained in the same place.

"The Jinchuriki..." Darui started, getting Naruto's attention. "Don't let your Biju fall in their hands. The people from this world are always after power, power and more power. To get it, they step on whoever comes in their way. If he gets you and Bee...Bee's isn't the normal kind of Jinchuriki, people actually like him. If we lose him, we'll lose our will to fight. From what I've seen, you seem to be a lot like him, so where would the will of your friends go if they lost someone like you? It would be the end of them. Don't get yourself get caught..."

"Right..." Naruto nodded and Darui smirked before leaving after his partners. "Kakashi-sensei, let's get Madara and show him our will." Naruto said with his right fist clenched, causing Kakashi to eye smile. As they left towards the summit, two samurais came out of the rubble.

"They're going after Madara? Then, where are the others going?" The masked Suigetsu asked to his partner who was much taller.

"I didn't hear too...maybe after Sasuke. It seems more likely since Madara's reputation would make the Kages after him instead of Sasuke, I think." Jugo explained.

"Then, after Sasuke we go!" Suigetsu shouted as he rushed in the direction of the bodyguards, followed by Jugo.

* * *

As Ao was moving through the forest, a puppet that was layed on a tree branch suddenly lifted its head. The puppet had what seemed to be to small shovels as its legs and two kamas as its arms. There was also a small written tag on its forehead. To Ao's shock, a kama suddenly appeared as it was launched towards him. As it was almost stabbing his face, Ao managed to grab hit at last second. Then, he felt a source of chakra behind him, before turning and launching the kama, stabbing the puppet in its torso as it was about to launch a second kama. The puppet crashed against a tree and then, the inscription of the tag disappeared.

"A booby trap...This one's Danzo's." Ao noted but suddenly a feeling of emptiness filled him and all went black. As he made an effort to open his eyes, he saw his own body in front of him. "_What the hell? Why am I looking at myself?" _

"You felt for it." Ao suddenly spoke, confusing even more the real one. "Ninja Art: Mind Puppet Cursed Transfer ...that's the name of this jutsu."

"_Shit! It's a curse that forces a bodyswap on whoever attacks!" _Ao realized in what the jutsu consisted, at the same time he realized he was inside the defeated puppet.

* * *

"_They're doing well, avoiding Mizukage and Tsuchikage's attacks while trying not to hurt them and still trying to attack me from time to time." _Madara thought as he watched the fight from another wooden pillar where he was seated in.

"This isn't working! We can't hold back on them anymore!" Ë furiously shouted to the Kazekage.

"Are you really willing to put their lives on the line, Raikage?" Gaara countered. Before Ë could answer, both had to part ways so they could avoid the incoming glob of lava launched by the Mizukage.

"_Not being able to perform seals doesn't help in this situation but I think I can still manage it..." _The Raikage thought as he rushed once again towards Madara, while being followed by the flying Onoki. "Here I go! Big Bang Shot" Ë shouted as he suddenly turned while his body immediately got enveloped in the Lightning Armor. The Raikage thrusted his right foot forward and the big boot hit Onoki square in the chest, as he couldn't stop his midair movement. While the Tsuchikage was being projected against the wall, Ë had already turned into his primary target, getting close to him astonishingly fast.

"Like you could hit me." Madara mockingly stated as Ë's fist passed through his body. The leader of Akatsuki grabbed Ë's throat but before he could anything, Ë's body started to leak even more Lightning chakra. "_Ah, nice trick but not good enough to fool a Sharingan."_

"You're solid now!" The Raikage shouted as he appeared behind Madara ready to punch him. Unfortunately, the new blow passed through Madara as well, much to Ë's shock. Madara followed with a kick of his own that sent Ë crashing against the nearest wall. "H-How, damn it?"

"Your Lightning Style: Shadow Clone was a good trap but I warped the electricity away as soon as the clone dispersed. You were close to hit me this time, young Raikage." Madara complimented, finishing with a moking chuckle.

"Tsk, I knew you would recognize it as a clone but I never expected you to take care of its after-effects and become intangible once again before my Body Flicker was done." Ë upsetly admitted. "_He really must be Madara Uchiha. His speed and space-time ninjutsu seem like what the histories tell..."_

"Summoning Jutsu" Mei intoned as she waved a scroll above her head. A large portion of water appeared in the air and, before it could fall, Mei performed a set of seals and the water was kept floating in the air. The water then started to boil until every single drop of it turned into a cloud of water vapour. That same cloud moved in Gaara's direction until it was right above him. "Boil Style: Acidic Downpour Jutsu"

"I have a bad feeling about this rain...Sand Style: Sky Sand Protective Wall" Gaara raised all the sand around the room to form a large shield above him, so he could defend himself from the heavy rain that was falling on him. The rain drops were swiftly corroding the shield of sand, causing a drop of sweat to slowly fall across Gaara's face who was holding his arms upwards to hold the shield with his chakra. "_I knew it, it's acid rain! But for it to corrode this shield...this jutsu it's my second thickest shield, only second to Shukaku's Shield. It looks like I'll have to use the last of my sand to defend..."_

"_It seems Gaara is running out of sand..." _Madara thought as he briefly watched the scene. "_I'll get him before she kills...What?" _Madara's movement stopped as he noticed large chuncks of wood and stone falling from a part of the ceilling and of the wall where Ë was stuck in. "_He's using electrical energy to cause a kind of rockslide?"_

"_Eh, don't fail me now kid!" _ Ë thought as he too was watching Gaara's struggle to survive. A growl started to form in the Kazekage's throat before it turned into a large shout as he moved his right hand in a circular motion to create a thinner shield of sand above him. The shield, hard as steel, was enough to protect him from the final rain drops that passed through the hole made in the first one.

"Ah, it seems the ultimate defense isn't as strong as it once was." Madara, who warped a few meters behind Gaara, commented as the second sand shield fell to the floor. "_Shukaku was the one responsible for it. Now, for it to work, it depends of Gaara's will and chakra. While still strong, it isn't something that can be used on a constant basis."_

"This is the last of my sand..." The tired Gaara whispered as he looked to the sand that fell from his second shield, along with some that remained from the first one after Mei's jutsu took most part of it. Gaara stared into the ceilling and sighed. "It seems I'll have to end up using Shukaku's jutsu..."

"Dual Elemental Art: Acid Trap Hole" Mei slammed her hand into the floor and a large hole opened under Gaara's feet. As he fell into it, boiled water started to raise from below.

"_She combined her Earth Style with her Boil Style!" _Gaara thought as he kept falling, getting closer to the water in the process.

"_Dangerous woman will kill him. Tsk, it's not good for me to exaggerate in warping..." _Madara regretfully thought. "_I guess I'll have to get a hold of Suna sometime later...Huh?" _To Madara's shock, Gaara appeared from the trap hole in a levitating platform of sand. "_Ah...he still had the sand that composed his gourd, huh?"_

"_I only have chakra to use that jutsu so..." _Gaara took a bag from inside his jacket and picked a soldier pill that he swallowed so he could recover his chakra. Seeming more lively, Gaara performed a set of seals, took a breath and gathered chakra in his throat. "Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet" Gaara spat a huge sphere of compressed wind chakra towards the ceilling, destroying it completely.

"Why waste such a jutsu in destroying the ceilling?" The confused Ë asked to himself as he stood on top of the rubble created by his last jutsu, in the attempt to stall Madara. To both Ë and Madara's surprise, Gaara layed a large scroll on the floor and slammed his right palm into it.

"Sand Style Summoning Scroll: Silent Wasteland" The summoning formula written in the scroll spreaded all across the room and started to glow. Then, right in the center, sand started to erupt in large amounts, quickly filling the room's floor. It didn't stop there though. Sand continued to appear in large amounts, completely filling the conference room.

* * *

"What's happening up there?" Naruto shouted as sand started to erupt from the opened ceiling of the building where the summit was held. Both him and Kakashi were standing a few meters away from the principal door.

"_First that huge explosion that blew off the roof and now this huge amount of sand." _Kakashi thought as he used his Sharingan to see the chakra that filled the entire building. "We can't enter by the front door. The entire building is filled with Gaara's sand. We'll have to climb all way up there."

"Fine with me. Let's hurry Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said with a fierce look in his eyes, before he and Kakashi both started to climb the outside walls.

* * *

"This is quite a sight..." Madara couldn't help but to indirectly compliment Gaara for what he did. The ground where the five shinobi were standing was all made of sand. Not only that, all of the building below that was filled with sand. Madara had Mei and Onoki by his side, while Gaara stood by the side of a kneeled Ë.

"Silent Wasteland...Isn't that the name of a desert in the Land of Wind?" Ë asked and small smirk appeared on Gaara's face.

"Since it seems you like a good conversation, I'll explain it to you too Madara." Gaara spoke a bit louder so that his far away opponent could hear him. "I'm sure you knew that I was out of sand already, so I just summoned a part of a desert near Sunagakure."

"You summoned the desert?" Ë incredously asked.

"Hmm, yes, I'm familiar with that practice. If I recall it correctly, it's a space-time barrier that is placed on an area, so that someone can summon it to gain the field advantage. It was a way to place a number of pre-made traps or even to summon entire troops if they stood inside the barrier, back in the day. Plus, in a battle situation like this one, it's highly advantageous since a Summoning Scroll Jutsu only needs a very small portion of chakra to activate the summoning formula. I'm truly impressed you pulled this out, young one." Madara complimented. "Since you've ingested a soldier pill earlier, you still should some fight in you."

"If I hadn't, I wouldn't have pulled this out to start with." Gaara countered, while he slightly raised his right hand. A nice amount of sand started to swirl around him. "I'll show you why I'm known as Gaara of the Desert."

* * *

**Next Chapter -** Gaara's Weapon

-Nawirama13

* * *

-NawiramaWikia-

1. Jutsu:  
1.1 Boil Style: Acidic Downpour Jutsu - It's simply acidic rain.  
1.2 Sand Style Summoning Scroll: Silent Wasteland - A summoning through a scroll which needs less chakra than a regular summoning jutsu, because the only chakra needed is to activate the formula in the scroll. This particular jutsu summons part of the Silent Wasteland, a desert in the Land of Wind. It's considered a Sand Style Summoning because the sand had already been infused with some of Gaara's Sand chakra before being summoned.

2. Characters:  
2.1 E Yotsuki - the rockslide caused by the release of electrical energy is the exact same jutsu as Raiga Kurosuki's Lightning Style: Boulder Avalanche  
2.2 Mei Terumi - The water she summons into the air is the exact same thing as the Portable Water Field that Shikamaru uses in the anime against Kakuzu.

Concepts:  
3.1 Dual Elemental Art - A term that will be used whenever two different elements are combined without it being an advanced nature. Most jutsus that are included under this term are collaboration jutsus.

-Nawirama13


	3. Gaara's Weapon

Many thanks to the people who are reading and reviewing my story, especially adngo714 by pointing out a mistake I made in chapter 1. I want to ask you guys to tell me if you see any more mistakes, because my first language isn't english, so I may miss some :s

Thanks in advance!

* * *

Chapter 3 - Gaara's Weapon

* * *

"I've found them, Chojuro! This time they're over here!" Akatsuchi shouted as he found a pair of wooden sticks stuck in the middle of the snow.

"From the direction of the markings, it looks like Ao went this way." Chojuro concluded, after checking the small branches of the sticks.

"We'd better hurry then. Ao will need our help." Mifune remembered.

"Hai!" The two samurais, the Mist Swordsmen and the Iwagakure bodyguard all agreed.

"Wait for us!" All five stopped as they heard a familiar voice. Kankuro just landed by their side, followed by Temari, Shi and a Konoha shinobi. "Do you know where they're headed?"

"Yeah." Mifune answered, while pointing towards the sticks. "Who's this young man?"

"A Konoha Jounin who was travelling to the summit along with Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan and the Kyuubi Jinchuriki." Shi reported.

"You can just call me Yamato." The ANBU told them.

"Yamato is it? Can we trust him?" Mifune asked, surprising Yamato. "Being a Konoha shinobi, there's always the chance that he's under Danzo's orders."

"Not likely, but if you're worried about it, Sunagakure will take full responsability in case he tries something." Temari quickly countered, but Mifune wasn't totally convinced.

"Okay, fine..." The leader of the samurais relutanctly accepted Yamato in the search team with a sigh. "Aren't you missing one?"

"Not anymore. We can proceed." Darui said as he joined the others.

"_Darui...can't blame him for being so sensitive in the Jinchuriki matter, especially since his father was the former Hachibi's host." _Shi thought as he saw Darui looking behind a last time before they left the area. "_Nor do I have the moral to do so, as I'm quite sensitive about it too...as the brother of the last Nibi's host..."_

* * *

"Ugh! Damn it!" Fu cursed as he couldn't get rid of the tags that were covering Ao's right eye. As he tried to take off Ao's Byakugan, the tags that served as earrings immediately acted as a shield to stop Fu from stealing it. Not even with a kunai, the Root ANBU was able to break through the defense. "It's no use..."

"_Don't bother...That's a barrier jutsu that only the Kiri ANBU Hunter-nins can break. This is the only Byakugan Kirigakure has in its possession...You won't get your hands on it that easily." _Ao thought as he kept watching the scene from the puppet's point of view.

"So it's automatically invoked when the eyes are in danger, eh? Seems like the sort of jutsu you undertakers would come up with." Fu commented, much to Ao's surprise. It seemed that Fu could still hear the thoughts of whoever he trapped in his puppets. "I never thought of this as being easy...If I gouge out your eye, it will crush my own as well...You realize what I mean, don't you?"

"_Did Danzo order this? Is that all he thinks of his underlings?" _Ao asked in desbelief.

"One of my eyes is a small price to pay to strike such a major blow at Kirigakure, even though I can't do anything with this barrier protecting your eye...but there are ways of getting around it." Fu stated as he ripped off the remaining kama from the puppet's body and tied it up to the closest tree's branch.

"_What are you plotting?" _Ao suspiciously asked as he saw Fu climbing the tree on his body.

"I'm going to jump down and cut off your head." Fu explained as he tied Ao's hands together. "If I can't take your eye, I'll just have to take your whole head back to Konoha."

"_Are you going to kill yourself?" _Ao asked in a surprisingly calm tone.

"No, I'll leave your body the moment your neck is cut. Anyway, you'll die...and I'll return to my own body. I'll come back later for your head." Fu explained.

"_Whatever. You'd better be careful though...You don't want to make a mistake." _Ao advised.

"What do you mean?" The confused Fu asked.

"_If you get scared and leave my body too soon, I'll block the blade! And if I don't die, our positions will be reversed when you return for my head!" _Ao explained, leaving Fu speechless for awhile.

"Hmph..." Fu grunted, before jumping towards the exposed blade of the kama.

* * *

"Baki-sama! Baki-sama!" Two girls barged into Baki's office, while shouting loudly.

"What is it with you two, Sari, Matsuri?" Baki asked, visibly annoyed by her loud voices.

"The Silent Wasteland, a large amount of its sand disappeared!" Matsuri explained, causing Baki's eyes to open slightly.

"And some rooms covered in snow and rubble appeared in its place. What's going on, Baki-sama?" Sari asked.

"_It must have been in the area of the __Space-Time Battlefield Swap__. So that means..." _Baki suddenly stood, frightening Sari and Matsuri in the process. "Gaara must be in a fight right now. And a big one..."

* * *

"_This was a summoning through a scroll, so the portion of chakra used was meaningless. Gaara's ready to fight all out now. That means..." _Madara shifted the focus of his right eye from Gaara to Ë. "I'll go after you first!"

"Behind..." Gaara whispered seconds after Madara warped. Indeed, when Ë turned, he managed to grab Madara by his left wrist as he was about to stab him with a kunai.

"What's wrong? Can't warp without touching yourself?" Ë asked in a mocking tone, with lightning once again enveloping him. As he pulled his own head behind to prepare a headbutt, Madara used his free hand to grab Ë by the throat.

"Now you're mine!" Madara shouted as his right eye slightly glew. The effects of Mugen Tsukuyomi would take place shortly.

"THE FUCK I AM!" Ë roared as he still moved his head forward. The shocked Madara managed to avoid his opponent's first attack, but his left arm got exposed to the second coming of Ë's forehead. "Headbutt"

_"How is this possible?" _Madara thought as he backed away. Not even a grunt of pain was unleashed, but the fact was that Madara's left arm was in Ë's possession.

"Hey, lost something old man? Maybe I'll use it to replace mine!" Ë suggested as he waved the limb he held in his hand. Strangely, a white mucus-like substance seemed to be leaking from the place where Madara's arm was dettached. _"What is this? Seems like the guy from earlier..."_

_"How can someone resist Mugen Tsukuyomi? This Raikage...what a powerhouse, both physically and mentally." _Madara silently admitted, just before the sand below him started to swirl. Madara passed his right hand by his face and warped to a safe distance. The founder of the Uchiha clan saw the Fourth Raikage tossing away the arm, something that made him furious.

"Behind..." Before he could do something about Ë, Madara heard Gaara's whisper once again. "You've become quite slower, haven't you?"

"What are you talking about, Gaara?" Madara answered without turning to face the Kazekage.

"Haven't you noticed? You're warping speed has decreased to the point even I can keep with you. Plus, that intagebility technique you use isn't taking effect as fast is it was, considering that the Raikage managed to grab you. By summoning this desert, the advantage I gained wasn't having more sand to dispose of. It was limiting your movements."

"My movements?" Madara asked, before looking around the battlefield with his Sharingan. Then, it became clear. "I see now...The barrier is still in effect."

"So, you understand...Space-time ninjutsu doesn't work as well when its user his inside a barrier." Gaara remembered the more experienced Madara. "The first part of my summoning consists in placing the same barrier I placed in the area I'm about to summon. After the summoning, both barriers stay in place in case I wan't to swap the battlefields again."

"As it wasn't enough, this sand gives you sensor abilities, doesn't it? When I warp, my chakra disappears, but when I return and touch the sand, you immediately know where I am. Isn't it sensory sand?" Madara asked as he turned to his opponent, with Gaara's answer coming in the form of a smirk. "But what if my chakra doesn't return?"

"What do you mean?" Gaara asked but got no verbal answer. Madara passed his right hand through his face and warped once more.

"_Tsk, why did that idiot let him warp? He can attack from anywhere now." _Ë thought as he assumed a more defensive stance. Gaara simply lifted his hand, causing the sand around him to move a bit. Then, Ë understood Madara's intentions. The Akatsuki leader had just reappeared in midair, out of the reach of Gaara's sensory trap. Suddenly, what seemed to be the arm of Shukaku erupted from behind Gaara, stretching upwards and towards Madara, who just barely managed to dodge it.

"What caused the sand to move when you raised your arm wasn't that giant claw...The chakra was different! What was it?" The furious Madara demanded for an answer.

"The Silent Wasteland has that name because there isn't a sound in there, which means there's no wind. So, why is there a breeze all of a sudden?" Gaara wondered. "Like you called my sand sensory sand, you could call this sensory wind."

"_Which means he can know my location anytime he wants...This kid is quite good. I guess it's time to stop playing games." _Madara upsetly admitted. _"The trick is in getting rid of the barrier so..._Mizukage! Tsuchikage! Destroy the barrier!"

"Can they?" Gaara asked as he pointed to his left. To Madara's shock, both Kages were encased in sand. "That's Sand Style: Sand Coffin."

_"The kid did a good job but there's a big flaw on his plan. Hope Madara doesn't realize..." _Ë thought to himself, but to his surprise Madara started to laugh. "_Tsk, he already did."_

"You said it yourself Gaara, the barrier limits my movements, but it doesn't stop them. I can still warp to the outside of the barrier!" Madara stated, before he did so. The Akatsuki leader landed on top of the barrier, seeming like he was floating like Onoki. Then, he waved his right hand and a giant fan was summoned into it.

"_A gunbai?" _Gaara wondered as Madara started to wave his weapon, creating strong winds that were starting to change the color of the sky. _"What is he plotting now?"_

"I won't just destroy the barrier, I'll destroy you along with it!" The furious Madara shouted as he stopped waving the fan. Dark clouds were filling the entire sky. Then, a swirl pattern extended from the hole in his mask, bringing back Sasuke and Karin to this dimension. "Did you do what I told you?"

"Y-yes, I...Aaaaah!" Karin loudly screamed as she realized they were standing in the middle of the sky.

"Then, move." Madara ordered just before he backslapped Karin, sending her flying some meters away. "It seems she failed to heal you completely."

"This body has been put through a lot of strain today. Each time it recovers from injuries, the healing effects last much less." Sasuke explained with a strange tone of voice. "What do you want me to do? Is it about the arm you seem to have lost?"

"I can bear the pain, but I've wasted a considerable amount of chakra already. I was thinking about using your powers to break this barrier." Madara thoughtfully said. "I think it's time for you to show me that jutsu you told me about after the fight against Itachi."

"I don't know if this body can withstand it at this point, but since you already created the necessary conditions, I'll at least try." Sasuke formed a Chidori on his left hand and then lifted his arm into the sky.

"One more thing. After breaking through the barrier, I want you to finish up Susanoo." Madara said in a ordering tone, to which Sasuke only nodded.

"It was a huge mistake of your part to let him go, Kazekage." Ë reprimended Gaara who didn't seem to be worried at all.

"Madara's plan is to use us Kages to achieve his demented goals. At this point, I consider more important foiling his plans than actually capture him or kill him. I don't even know if we would be able to do the last two." Gaara explained his motives. "As long as we are inside the barrier, we'll be safe. As for those two, we'll find a way to break the genjutsu later."

"That all sounds nice, but you heard him. What will you do if they break the barrier?" Ë asked, as he looked from the immobilized Mei and Onoki to the airborne Madara and Sasuke.

"_Sasuke...has he enough strength to do something like that?" _Gaara wondered as he saw Sasuke with a Chidori in hand. "This barrier is quite resistant. To break it, you'll need a wide and powerful impact force jutsu. Madara must have something like that but he can't wave hand seals. It all depends in Sasuke's chakra reserves."

"No, it doesn't..." Ë mumbled as he saw what was happening. Sasuke was drawing lightning directly from the dark clouds, filling the sky with bolts. The younger Uchiha then shaped and guided the lightning, forming a huge chimera. "Manipulating natural lightning...that's the most dangerous way of using Lightning chakra."

"Vanish with the roar of thunder! Kirin" Sasuke intoned and waved his hand, bringing the huge lightning blast down. Madara, who had picked up the unconscious Karin, came by Sasuke's side and warped him away along with himself. The jutsu clashed against Gaara's barrier and, after a short while, broke through it.

"We're fucked!" Ë shouted while his body immediately got enveloped in lightning, much more than the used in the usual Lightning Armor. Gaara stretched his arms to each side of his body, getting ready to use his sand as a defense.

"You'll have to stall it long enough for me to get rid of it!"

"You're a fool! You think you can stop something like that!" Ë shouted as he stared into the huge blast. "_But it will be impossible to avoid it...Fuck! There's no choice..._Lightning Style: Great Exploding Current Jutsu"

The jutsu used by the Raikage released so much lightning chakra that it immediately forced the sand below and around him away, creating a sort of crater. As it was released from his body, the lightning chakra created a huge explosion and expanded in a dome formation. Gaara was forced to create a Sand Shield to protect himself of Ë's jutsu. With a wave of his right hand, the encased Kages were sucked underground so they could remain unharmed. Then, both jutsus clashed, lightning against lightning.

"Damn it! Whatever you want to do, do it now!" Ë shouted as he was clearly losing. Kirin continued to push the lightning dome down, causing the desperate Raikage to thrust his right hand forward, releasing another huge amount of lightning chakra to support the jutsu.

"_I'm not sure if this will work..The control I have over the sand isn't perfect yet. I..." _Gaara then saw Ë falling on his right knee, but still struggling to hold on. Another burst of chakra left his right hand towards the clashing zone. "_No! I'll have to do it. If the four of us die in here, it will be the same as Madara having us under his control. Our villages will be at his hand..."_

"Darn it! I can't hold on!" Ë shouted as he fell on both his knees, unable to maintain his arm stretched any longer. His control over the jutsu was about to end.

_"First I'll raise a platform. Then..._Sand Tsunami" Gaara created the small platform that allowed him to move through the air and then raised four giant waves of sand, one for each cardinal point. For the sand to raise into the waves, it opened the center of the battlefield where Ë was positioned.

"What is...this?" Ë mumbled as he was encased in a Sand Coffin, before being sucked into the sand that formed the West wave. The Raikage's jutsu fell, allowing Kirin to move through the "hole" created by Gaara. Raikage's jutsu remained active long enough for Gaara to move above, to the place where Madara and Sasuke were standing earlier.

"Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet" Gaara spat the huge wind sphere and clapped his hands together, forcing the four sand waves that had been rising in height to come down on both wind and lightning jutsus. The waves joined together, reforming the battlefield created earlier by Gaara's summoning. The young Kazekage's urge to finish things was so great that the platform dissolved before he was at a safe landing distance. Getting up from the harsh landing, Gaara slammed both palms into the sand, first dragging out the encased Kages and then releasing a large amount of chakra into it. "Sand Style: Giant Sand Burial" The powerful shockwaves created by Gaara compressed the sand, forcing both jutsus to contact eachother, causing a huge underground explosing that caused a massive earthquake.

* * *

"Are you okay, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked as the earthquake stopped. As soon as the barrier was destructed, Naruto and Kakashi fell of the wall they were climbing, forcing Naruto to summon Gamabunta who served as a cushion and held them during the initial shockwaves caused by the clash of jutsus and during the earthquake.

"I'm fine." Kakashi answered before looking back to their destination. The walls of the building fell during the earthquake, leaving only a huge mount of sand for them to climb. "We should hurry."

"It seems a huge battle is going on. I'll be going by now, but summon me if you need, Naruto." Gamabunta told to the toad summoner.

"Sure, Toad Chief. Thanks, for helping." Naruto and Kakashi jumped towards the mount of sand, while Gamabunta disappeared in a puff of smoke. "_What's going on here?"_

* * *

"Is it over?" Ë asked to himself, before forcing his way out of the Sand Coffin. As he stood, he saw Gaara with his arms hanged and having a hard time breathing. "_He stopped that jutsu. Unbelievable...The desert really is his weapon."_

"The jutsu failed." Madara stated as he and Sasuke appeared in front of Gaara. As soon as they warped back, Madara dropped the unconscious Karin to the ground.

"Sasuke's Kirin was bigger than this one. At least the barrier is now broken." The person who was posing as Sasuke remembered. "I'll proceed with Susanoo."

"Tsk, not this now..." Gaara mumbled as the spiritual humanoid being appeared and surrounded Sasuke. Suddenly, the large three-handed skeleton changed into a more demonic and evil-looking form, covered with a layer of armor and helding a bow on one of his hands. As Sasuke walked towards Gaara, so did Susanoo. As it was about to reach Gaara, it disappeared. "What happened?"

"Did it happen already?" Madara seemed to be surprised about what happened as well. Sasuke had fallen on his knees and was screaming desperately.

"Sasuke! Sasuke what's wrong?" Gaara asked as he kneeled by Sasuke's side. He had both hands covering his eyes and, from time to time, puked a weird black substance into the sand. Before Gaara could do something about it, the substance literally ran away from them, reverting back to a human shape when it reached a safe distance. As soon as it did, Sasuke lost consciousness. "_I knew it! Things were being too weird...That thing was controlling Sasuke's body from the inside!"_

"_That Susanoo was a complete one. Zetsu's body structure must have accelerated the rythm of its development. That must mean Sasuke is ready..." _Madara chuckled before warping away once more. To Gaara's shock, Madara appeared just in front of him. "It seems my warping speed returned to normal. Not much you can do at this point, right? What you're holding belongs to me, young Kazekage. You'll release him, one way or another."

"Sasuke! Gaara!" Naruto shouted as he reached the top of the sand mount along with Kakashi. Gaara was kneeled by the side of a fallen Sasuke, but did nothing to prevent Madara from lifting his fellow Uchiha by the collar of his shirt and putting him over his shoulder. "Gaara! What are you doing? Why are you letting him take Sasuke?"

"It's not that he's letting him. He doesn't have a say in the matter." Ë explained as he reached both Konoha shinobi. His state shocked both, as he was missing an arm and many portions of his skin were burned from the electricity generated by his last jutsu. Naruto looked back to Gaara and saw him standing and turning towards them. "He's being controlled by that eye, by Madara Uchiha's eye."

* * *

**Next Chapter -** Roots and Weeds

-Nawirama13

* * *

-NawiramaWikia-

1. Jutsu:

1.1 Barrier Jutsu: Space-Time Battlefield Swap - The barrier jutsu used by Gaara to prepare his Sand Style Summonings. The user places this barrier around a certain area, so that he can later force a space-time transfer between what is inside the barrier and the area caught by the new barrier. Both barriers remain active after the summoning, in case the user wants to revert the battlefield transfer. The barriers have the shape of a closed box. According to Madara, this barrier can be used to transfer pre-made traps or even entire troops.

1.2 Wind Style: Raising Air Currents - by waving his gunbai, Madara is able to create powerful air currents that change the weather, like turning a blue clean sky into a dark stormy one.

1.3 Lightning Style: Great Exploding Current Jutsu - Simply a huge explosion of lightning chakra that expands in a dome formation. It covers a very long range and it causes devastating effects. It consumes a huge amount of chakra and also puts quite some strain into the user's body. If by some reason the dome is delayed by some other jutsu and remains too close to the user, it will cause burnings to him due to the close distance between his body and the compressed lightning.

2. Characters:

2.1 Shi and Darui - Shi is Yugito's younger brother. In this story, his name will be Shi Nii. Darui is the son of the former Jinchuriki of the Eight Tails that appeared in the manga, the one with hair half blond and half black.

2.2 Madara Uchiha - Madara isn't, at least until this moment, able of using Wind Style jutsus by himself. His gunbai is the one that naturally generates wind chakra.

-Nawirama13


	4. Roots and Weeds

Took me a while to write this one. Blame school...

On a side note, check my Naruto Name Suggestion Forum. It could be useful if you're having a hard time naming a character (I personally am..)

* * *

Chapter 004 - Roots and Weeds

* * *

As lightning fell on the summit, snow continued to fall in the forest...

"If I can't take your eye, I'll just have to take your whole head back to Konoha."

"_Are you going to kill yourself?" _Ao asked in a surprisingly calm tone.

"No, I'll leave your body the moment your neck is cut. Anyway, you'll die...and I'll return to my own body. I'll come back later for your head." Fu explained.

"_Whatever. You'd better be careful though...You don't want to make a mistake." _Ao advised.

"What do you mean?" The confused Fu asked.

"_If you get scared and leave my body too soon, I'll block the blade! And if I don't die, our positions will be reversed when you return for my head!" _Ao explained, leaving Fu speechless for awhile.

"Hmph..." Fu grunted, before jumping towards the exposed blade of the kama. As they were falling, Ao tried to maintain his head clear, so he could block the blade as soon as the Root ANBU left his body. That wasn't needed though, since Temari appeared riding her wind chakra-infused fan, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket as his neck was about to hit the kama.

"What the hell happened?" Kankuro asked as he and everyone else reached the place where Temari and Ao landed.

"You saved me..." The panting Ao mumbled while he still tried to believe what just happened. "The enemy used a jutsu that made me lose control of my body...If you hadn't shown up, I would have died."

"Wow, that was really close." Akatsuchi stated as he stared into the blade.

"Was it some sort of genjutsu or something?" Darui asked as he remembered the effects of Madara's Mugen Tsukuyomi. Ao seemed to be struggling to find an explanation.

"It's a variant of the Mind Transfer Jutsu." He finally let out.

"_He knows about the Yamanaka clan's jutsu? That's strange..." _Yamato thought as he stared suspiciously to the Hunter-nin.

"I know you're a sensor and have much more experience than me, but I bet you were still worried we wouldn't get here in time, weren't you?" Chojuro asked to his partner.

"Sorry for worrying you..." Ao apologized, without noticing Chojuro's eyebrow twitching.

"Your right eye...They're after that Byakugan of yours." Mifune stated as he saw the tags covering Ao's right eye.

"_Byakugan? He's not a Hyuga, that's for sure! So how...?" _Yamato thought for awhile but then remembered the circumstances surrounding Kakashi's Sharingan. "_Perhaps he fought a Hyuga and took his eye...Maybe he fought a Yamanaka too."_

"They almost had it..." Ao said, before raising his hands, showing them to be tied together with ropes. "I'm sorry, can you please undo these ropes?"

"I'll do it. I'll break the jutsu on your right eye, too." Chojuro offered his help as he walked towards Ao.

"Thanks, that would help." Ao answered with a smile.

"What...is that?" Shi asked as he noticed a seemingly inexistent amount of chakra coming from a tree near them. Hanging in there was a puppet with an empty tag on its forehead, being held only by the kama that stabbed its torso.

"_No! He hasn't reversed the Mind Transfer Jutsu yet!" _Ao shouted, still trapped inside the puppet, but no one could hear him.

"_This is going perfectly! If this kid can break the jutsu on this guy's right eye, all the better...I'll crush his Byakugan and immediately reverse my jutsu!" _Fu thought as Chojuro grabbed Ao's hands.

"_That's it! This chakra is from that guy from Konoha! The sensor!" _Ao suddenly concluded._ "When that girl of Sasuke's team sensed us, I saw him react like I had...He must have sensed them coming, too! That was what they were after, a chance to escape! Danzo fed the other Kages to Akatsuki, just so he could get his ass in safety!" _

"All right!" Chojuro said as he tied the ropes tighter, instead of loosing them.

"What are you doing, Chojuro?" The surprised Kankuro asked.

"He's not Ao...I can't break the jutsu on his right eye, he is well aware of that fact." Chojuro explained to the others, who all instantly glared towards the impostor.

"_Eh, you messed things up, kid! I would never apologize in front of Chojuro like that. Spoiling kids isn't my style." _Ao mocked Fu, the only one who could hear him.

"You got me, fish face." Fu nearly hissed, while he glared to the young Swordsman of the Mist. Using Ao's body, Fu backrolled and charged towards the trio of samurai. As they drew their swords, Fu attempted an axe handle like maneuver, so he could use Urakaku's sword to cut the ropes, but both Temari and Kankuro stepped between them.

"Not that easily." Temari said with a smirk. As Fu turned, he found himself surrounded by a total of six shinobi.

"Tsk, for even you to be here...Sai really failed us. You did a good job in brainwashing him, Tenzo of the Wood Style." Fu said with a furious look on Ao's face, his free left eye fixed on Yamato. "_With him there's six, so where's the fat one?"_

"Got ya!" They all heard as two hands emerged from the snow to grab Ao's ankles. Immediately after, the hands turned into stone.

"_Tsk, a stone clone! No choice!" _Fu thought as he couldn't move. Shi clapped both hands together, making Akatsuchi reappear between both Kumo-nins. The giant Iwa-nin charged towards the immobilized Ao, preparing a powerful punch while doing so.

* * *

"How did it go?" Danzo asked as the man who was being carried on Torune's shoulders awakened.

"Sorry, I failed." The upset Fu revealed. "When we transfer to other bodies, our sensing abilities are disabled until we return to our own body."

"You mean he had backup?" Torune asked, while Fu jumped to his own two feet.

"The Kages sent almost everyone, even the three samurais who were at the meeting. Plus..." Fu turned to his master, looking as if he was the one responsible for the next bad news. "Tenzo of the Wood Style is here too."

"For him to pass by our men, he must have had help...Sai failed me by the last time. I'll punish him severily once we get back." Danzo assured before the Root trio continued towards the bridge which was only a few meters away from them. When they reached it, a white kunai appeared at Danzo's feet, getting stuck on the blue stones that composed the bridge, causing the bodyguards Fu and Torune to step forward to protect their master.

"Well well, look who we have here!" They heard a female voice say. Sitting on top of one of the closest pillars of the bridge was Kurotsuchi, who seemed delighted about what she had just found. "Danzo! Since the meeting, isn't it?"

"One of the Tsuchikage's bodyguards! You didn't tell us they were this close, Fu!" Torune scolded his partner.

"Calm down. She was the only missing in that group, she's alone. Still, for me to sense her only now, she must be quite skilled in suppressing her chakra." Suddenly, a drop of sweat fell across Fu's cheek, as he felt a nice amount of chakra behind him. "The kunai! MOVE!"

"Bang..." Kurotsuchi whispered with a smirk as the kunai she had thrown before exploded.

* * *

"Tat...wa...me..." Ao mumbled, while he layed on the snow with his face swollen and his left eye blank. "_What a right hand..."_

"You had enough time to stop your fist, Akatsuchi." Shi sighed while he healed Ao's face.

"Eheh, I didn't notice he had come back. Sorry!" Akatsuchi excused himself while he rubbed the back of his head, making the others wonder how childish Akatsuchi was.

"Tenzo, huh? Is that your real name?"

"Yamato is my ANBU codename. Please keep calling me that way." Yamato asked to Mifune, who still failed to trust him.

"What about the Wood Style? You from the same clan as the First Hokage?" Darui asked, while he and everyone else waited for Ao to be fully healed.

"One's abilities shouldn't be talken too lightly. Sorry, it's confidential Konoha matter." Yamato immediately tried to avoid to speak of himself.

"If it's something confidential, then...?"

"Yes, Kankuro-kun. Whoever did this, is from Konoha." Yamato confirmed the Sand Jounin's suspicions.

"It was the sensor, I recognized his chakra. A Yamanaka clan member, I'm sure." Ao revealed.

"That Byakugan of yours..." Yamato started, upset that Ao revealed the Mind Transfer Jutsu to be one of the Yamanaka clan's abilities.

"Is something that shouldn't be talken about too lightly, right ANBU-san?" Ao answered and stood, beginning a staredown between himself and Yamato.

"You guys better stop this. We've all been ordered to find that Danzo guy. We've all been ordered the same. So, if you guys cause any problems that can put this mission in risk, I may have to cut you down..." Darui threatned while pulling out his cleaver sword. By instict, Yamato pulled out a kunai, while Ao pulled out a kama.

"Could you guys just shut up..." Temari asked as she moved between the three, before getting her folded fan stuck on the snow. "...and start to move? You're sounding like babygirls..."

"Sorry, I never intended to start a fight." Yamato immediately apologized, while Ao simply put his kama back inside his jacket.

"_Phew, I really didn't want to get involved in this..." _Darui quietly brought his sword to his back, with a drop of sweat slowly falling down his face. Everyone looked at eachother and nodded, before jumping to the woods to resume the hunt.

* * *

"You're awfully slow today, Fu." Torune continued to scold his partner, as they emerged from the cloud of smoke caused by the explosion. Danzo was visibly faster than them, considering he was already waiting when they reached him.

"There wasn't chakra in that kunai initially, but suddenly it appeared and started to raise at an unusual high speed." Fu explained.

"Fu, Torune, you must be careful against her. She's perhaps the strongest of all the bodyguards present in that earlier meeting." Danzo told to his own bodyguards, surprising them. "She's one of the Tsuchikage's grandchildren, which means she has unlimited potential."

"What do you mean by unlimited, Danzo-sama?" Torune asked.

"The Tsuchikage is the only known shinobi to be in possession of a Bloodline Expansion, something even more complex than the elemental combinations that are Bloodline Limits." Danzo revealed. "A Bloodline Expansion is the combination of three elements into one. It is unknown if Onoki's children and grandchildren are able to do it, but there's the chance they can combine two elements if they are unable to do it with three."

"Oh? And what do you think that was? The kunai got pulverized to dust..." Kurotsuchi remembered and winked, before getting on her feet.

"So she can do it..." Torune mumbled.

"Baka! Just because that happened, it doesn't mean it's Dust Style! I just made it explode!" Kurotsuchi provoked the Root ANBU, before putting her tongue out to him.

"_Made it explode? I guess that makes some sense..." _Danzo thought, before he stared to his sensor bodyguard. "Fu, how much time will it take for the others to reach us?"

"Hmm...Considering we'll have to deal with her, we won't have time to run so...about 5 minutes, maybe not even that."

"Then cover me, you two. I'm going to use that time to release the seal on my right arm. Then, I'll wipe all of them together." Danzo's words came out in a whisper. Before both ANBUs could question him, he continued. "We'll put those white monsters we sealed in the scroll by the side of their corpses. That way, the Kages will blame Akatsuki for their deaths. Then, once we reach Konoha, I'll order every Root to find and kill any messenger that tries to inform Konoha of what happened in the meeting. Once I become the official Sixth Hokage, I'll do something about the other villages."

"Since there will be twelve powerful opponents including Tenzo and this girl, we might need Danzo-sama's powers to win." Fu said to his partner, who nodded in agreement.

"Hey, will we do this or what?" Kurotsuchi asked as she spinned another kunai in her left hand, before throwing it with a flick of her fingers. The kunai landed right between the three Konoha shinobi before exploding. From the smoke cloud raised, Fu and Torune rushed towards the stone pillar, climbing it in a zig-zag motion. The masked Torune jumped high into the sky and unleashed a barrage of kunais. Kurotsuchi dodged with backflips, before noticing Fu behind her.

"Mind Transfer..." Fu intoned as he performed the characteristic hand seal of the Yamanaka clan, but interrupted himself as Kurotsuchi started to melt. _"Is that a lava clone?"_

"Can you still sense her chakra?" Torune asked to which Fu just smirked.

"Of course I can! She's hiding in stones!" Fu shouted as he turned to slash Kurotsuchi who just appeared behind him. The tanto however was stopped when she ducked out and grabbed the handle of the sword. With Fu open to an attack, Kurotsuchi prepared a punch but before she could unleash it, a kunai thrown by Torune stabbed her in the forehead. To the surprise of both, she smirked and moved her fist anyway, causing Fu to release his weapon. By the time Fu joined his partner, Kurotsuchi once again started to melt, dissolving the sword in the process. "She can use Lava Style."

"Yup, but is that it?" The kunoichi asked as she emerged from the pillar once again. "Unfortunately, neither me, my brothers or my father can use Dust Style, but we can combine two of the three elements into other natures. Now, the question is: how many combinations can each of us use?"

"So that's what Danzo-sama meant. There's the possibility she can use up to three advanced natures..." Fu concluded.

"Make that six. Don't you know that each pair of basic natures can be combined into two different ones? It's just a matter of which one is the individual's affinity, but considering my family is a bit special..." Kurotsuchi added with a smirk.

"That's a bit too much, but after thinking about it, it's possible. The way she made the kunais explode hints for another combined nature." Torune told to his partner.

"Most likely it's just an attempt of intimidation." Fu answered and stared to the woman in front of him. "This seems to be another clone. The amount of chakra is considerably inferior to the one of that woman. She's below."

"Then, you attack. When you feel she's about to appear again, block her and I'll finish her off with my jutsu." Torune suggested.

"My Mind Distraction Jutsu should be enough for that. Let's do it." Fu agreed and rushed towards the woman in front of him, while Torune used his teeth to remove his gloves. Something seemed to be covering them entirely. Fu attempted to slash Kurotsuchi with a kama but she blocked it with one of her white blades. Knowing what that meant, the Yamanaka clan member dropped his weapon and performed one of the specific seals of his clan. "Ninja Art: Mind Distraction Jutsu"

"Oh! You stopped my clone! You're skilled." Kurotsuchi once again emerged from behind her opponent, but this time he was fast enough to turn, grabbing her by both wrists. Suddenly, his triumphant expression changed to a shocked one.

"No! Don't do it, Torune!"

"Disperse..." The Kurotsuchi who had just regained control of her body whispered, causing the one between both Root members to disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Can't stop!" Torune shouted as his fist collided with Fu's left arm, while the latter still tried to avoid him. Both fell into the floor, with the sensor grabbing his arm in pain. The skin of his left forearm was swiftly corroding, with the same starting to happen to the muscle tissues. _"She tricked us with that Shadow Clone! That's why her chakra was so much lower..."_

"_Oh! That seems to be the same jutsu Onoki-jii once told me about in his tales, the one used by one of Konoha's Aburames...What was his name again? Huh, Shiruno...Shiruko...Maybe Shikuro...Whatever! The guy who once fought Shodai Tsuchikage, Daibachi Kamizuru-sama." _Kurotsuchi thought as she saw Torune using some sort of antidote to stop the infection. _"If I remember Onoki-jii's story correctly, that was a rare jutsu that consisted in sending nano-sized poisonous bugs into somebody to destroy his cells...Gotta be careful, I don't want my skin to be scarred because of that! How in the hell am I gonna find a boyfriend that way?"_

"Sorry, Torune. I should've guessed." Fu excused himself while he held his injured arm. Then, another white kunai passed right between them and exploded.

"How much time left, Fu?" Danzo asked as his men once again joined him.

"None." Fu revealed with a smirk. The cloud of smoke that resulted of the last explosion dissipated, revealing eight shinobi behind Kurotsuchi.

"Thanks for the backup, but I don't really need it guys." The seemingly upset Kurotsuchi said as she turned to her allies. "I can take care of them on my own."

"Really? The way you've been using clones, it looks more like you've been trying to stall them until we arrived." Ao countered, with Kurotsuchi showing a true angry look for the first time in a long, long while.

"Geez, not again..." Temari sighed and traded a worried look with her brother.

"Well, if you guys want to fight between yourselves, then go ahead." A white-haired young man said as he appeared on top of the pillar parallel to the one where the bodyguards were standing. "_I thought Sasuke was here, but since he's not, I'll capture Danzo myself and give him to Sasuke. From there, he can do whatever he wants to him."_

"_T-that's...Suigetsu-san?" _The shocked Chojuro thought as he saw his former comrade in front of him. Then, another man arrived, joining Suigetsu in the pillar he was standing in. This one was taller and had orange hair.

"I guess the samurai aren't worth that much these days..." Kankuro let out.

**Flashback**

"I'm sensing two men behind us. They're the ones who came along with Sasuke to the summit." Shi shouted to his companions.

"We'll stop them." Mifune offered. "By what you sensor shinobi said earlier, it's likely that Danzo headed towards the Blue Samurai Bridge. We'll join you after taking care of them."

(...)

"_Oh shit..." _Suigetsu thought as three samurais appeared in front of himself and Jugo.

"What's the situation back there?" Urakaku asked to the duo wearing samurai armors.

"Everyone but us was killed." The smaller figure answered.

"Two of Sasuke's minions are still around somewhere...You didn't see them?" Okisuke inquired in a very calm tone of voice.

"No, we didn't...Are you sure they're not dead? It's totally destroyed back there." The nervous Kirigakure missing-nin tried his best to sound normal.

"No...One of Kumogakure's sensors confirmed they were still alive. We changed our path just to find them..." Okisuke continued in the same calm tone, doing a silent iai to draw his sword of his scabbard.

"You two, take off your armor." Mifune ordered with a smirk, while the three pointed their katanas to the impostors.

"My my, I guess you've got us. It seems this wasn't a very good plan." Suigetsu admitted as he removed his helmet. Suddenly, he charged towards Mifune, only to get stabbed in the stomach. To the surprise of the swordmasters, Suigetsu's body changed into water and came out of the armor by all of its openings, before reforming behind the samurai, allowing him to escape. As the trio was about to follow the younger sword specialist, Jugo's armor exploded, revealing a brown skinned monster.

"Kill..." The anxious Jugo erupted in laughs as he rushed towards his opponents.

**End of Flashback**

"So, you killed them?" Suigetsu asked to his partner.

"No."

"No?"

"Sasuke placed a seal on me. When I start to transform, the seal activates and I'm put under Tsukuyomi. From there it depends on my will: if I'm the one who starts the transformation, Tsukuyomi won't do anything, but if my urge to kill overpowers my rationality, Sasuke's image will appear in the world of Tsukuyomi and calm me down until I'm back in control." Jugo explained and pointed to his own eyes. It seemed to Suigetsu that Jugo's irides were the Sharingan's red instead of the regular orange supported by the man with double personality. "I just incapacitated them. It was more important to get you some help."

"Gee, thanks. I'm starting to kinda like you, Jugo." Suigetsu smirked as he drew his broken Kubikiribocho, pointing it towards the larger group, before changing its direction towards the Candidate Hokage. "You better get out of my way, boys and girls! The old man is mine!"

"Hmph...Should we start to get serious, Danzo-sama?" The unimpressed Fu asked for his superior's authorization. His left forearm was already wrapped in bandages.

"Sure. I'm about to do so myself." Danzo gave his permission to his men, just as the three metal locks covering his right arm opened and fell to the floor.

"_What's up with his arm?" _Kurotsuchi's thoughts surely matched the ones from the other non-Roots. Danzo's right arm had a much darker skin tone than any other part of his body and the wrinkles covering it were much more as well, making it seem like the arm was rotten. More shocking however, were the spheres that spreaded throught it. _"It's covered in...Sharingans! Gross..."_

_

* * *

_**Next Chapter** - Despair! Illusion or Reality?.

-Nawirama13

* * *

-NawiramaWikia-

1. Jutsus:

1.1 - Lava Style: Lava Clone Jutsu - The user can make this clone dissolve with a hand sign, that's especially useful if the clone is in contact with the opponent, meaning it can melt him as it crumbles.

2. Characters:

2.1 Daibachi Kamizuru - First Tsuchikage, grandfather of those bee-users of the Kamizuru clan that appeared in the anime.

2.2 Kurotsuchi - As of this chapter, her only confirmed advanced nature is the Lava Style.

-Nawirama13


	5. Despair! Illusion or Reality!

8 days since last one...Same lame excuse as in the last chapter, blame school xD

For everyone who was been reading my story, I want to clarify something. The reason why there have been fighting scenes in every chapter is because this is the end of the Five Kage Summit Arc. I think that's a normal procedure in the final moments of an arc.

I plan on ending this arc in chapter 7. If all goes well, a new arc (and the true beginning of my story) will start in chapter 8.

On a last note, many thanks to everyone who has been supporting me. You guys are the best! :P

* * *

Chapter 005 - Despair! Illusion or Reality?

* * *

"Where did you get those eyes, Danzo?" Yamato inquired from a distance. Even though the large group of shinobi was staring at him from quite far away, they could all see a Sharingan on Danzo's right palm and at least four others across his forearm.

"Here and there. It's a quite long story." As Danzo moved his arm, a total of ten Sharingans became visible.

"Taking one enemy's weapon to strengthen himself and his own village is one thing, but to take that many eyes from people who are supposed to be comrades...it's sickening." The disgusted Shi stated.

"Wow, wait a second! By taking, you're suggesting he had something to do with the Uchiha massacre?" Kurotsuchi asked, surprising everyone else.

"No, I wasn't actually speaking of that, but now that you said it..." The also surprised Shi started to think. "What better time to take the eyes than after the massacre?"

"He has everything to do with the Uchiha clan!" Suigetsu shouted, getting everyone's attention. "He and the other old geezers from Konoha! They ordered Itachi to kill his own clan!"

"Was that your objective? Getting Danzo?" Ao asked to the former Kirigakure shinobi.

"Yeah, old man Ao, but what does it matter to you?" Suigetsu asked back.

"Things just changed quite a bit, then. We'll fight by your side, since we have a common enemy but..." Ao took two kamas from the inside of his jacket, pointing one to Danzo and the other to Suigetsu. "...after this is all over, I'll come for you Suigetsu-kun. You're still one of Kirigakure's missing-nins and I'm still one of it's hunter-nins."

"Hmph, whatever..." Suigetsu answered with a smirk that immediately fell, as he saw two of the shinobi charging towards himself and Jugo.

"Darui! Shi! What the hell are you doing?" Kankuro shouted, as Darui tried an overhead slash with his cleaver sword that was still blocked by Suigetsu's broken Kubikiribocho.

"I don't know if you attacked the other Kages or not, but you guys sure attacked my boss so..." Darui slashed twice more and Suigetsu successfully blocked them, but the third slash forced him to his knees. "...there's no way I'll fight by your side. Sorry but like Danzo, you'll have to be captured too."

"Darn it!" Suigetsu tried to push Darui's blade away but to no avail. Then, Jugo charged with his right forearm changed into an axe but Shi slided between the giant and Darui, so he could kick Jugo's arm away. A shuriken thrown by Darui slightly touched the right side of Jugo's torso, but since it was infused with lightning chakra, it made a deep gash on the bipolar's body. Suigetsu turned himself into water that moved behind Darui, causing the broken blade to fall with a clang, before the Hozuki Clan member's body reformed, allowing him to lock Darui in a sleeper hold-like maneuver.

"Go forth, Fu, Torune!" Danzo ordered and both disappeared with a Body Flicker Jutsu.

"ANBU! One's coming for you!" Ao hastily warned and Yamato instinctively raised some tendrils in front of himself to create a wall. Indeed, Torune's punch was coming from that side and was blocked by the wall, but Yamato felt that his defense was getting weaker by the second.

"He uses Shikuro Aburame's bugs! Watch out!" Kurotsuchi shouted and the shocked Yamato jumped back as he saw the hole created in the wall by the nano-sized insects.

"_Shikuro's bugs attack at the celular level. With my Wood Style creating sources of life, this guy is possibly the worst opponent I could find." _Yamato thought as he continued to dodge Torune's blows.

"Your eye! I'll make sure I take it this time!" Fu shouted as his kama clashed with Ao's right one. The Hunter-nin tried to use his second kama to slash his opponent's exposed right side, but Fu blocked the attack by grabbing Ao's wrist. The Root member dropped his weapon and grabbed Ao's other wrist, before trying to join his hands together to completely lock him. Ao realized that wasn't the only thing and kicked his opponent in the gut before he could complete the Mind Transfer's hand seal. Before he could try a new attack, Fu rolled to his left side just in time to avoid Chojuro's Hiramekarei enveloped in hammer-shaped chakra.

"Your sword releases too much chakra. He'll notice it before you hit him." Ao told to his partner, inadvertedly making him more nervous.

"Danzo, is it true that you and the other elders ordered Itachi Uchiha to kill his own family?" Temari demanded for an answer.

"Hare, Boar, Ram..." Danzo intoned as he performed the respective hand seals. He then rushed towards the two present Sand Siblings, aiming his right fist towards Kankuro who was the closest to him. Suddenly, a golem made of rock erupted from the ground to block Danzo's punch. Right after the fist connected with the living statue, it hugged Danzo, immobilizing him completely. As the golem continued to tighten his hug, blood started to drip from Danzo's mouth.

"Lava Style: Quicklime Congealing Jutsu" A large amount of quicklime was spit by the airborne Kurotsuchi, enveloping both Danzo and the golem. The first attack was then followed by a large water jet. "Water Style: Violent Water Wave"

"The water is making it act like quick-drying cement." Kankuro noted as Danzo was completely trapped by the combination of jutsus used by the Iwa duo.

"So, is it true?" Kurotsuchi asked in a dead serious tone, as she landed and seated on Akatsuchi's left shoulder.

"Whether it is true or whether it is a lie, such kind of information is not to be talked about with people of other villages. The fact that you ever heard of the Uchiha massacre is by itself a disgrace to Ko..." Danzo stopped to cough some blood. "Even if you torture me, even if you mutilate me, you'll get nothing. Self-sacrifice is what makes a ninja. Scorning the sun and working in the shadows, that's what it is to be a ninja. Being nice will not change the world. It is only thanks to people who put the greater good ahead of themselves that we have been able to maintain peace."

"Don't talk about peace like you're contributing for it. You tried to fool four villages, so you could get virtual control over their military power. Is that how you want to achieve peace? Then, you're no better than Madara Uchiha. There's no peace in your goals!" Temari angrily stated.

"It's true that many have sacrificed themselves for peace, but what you say makes no sense. There's no need for it to be like that forever. Once there's peace, there's no need for sacrifices, unless someone does something to disrupt it. That's what you're doing, Danzo!" Kankuro supported his sister.

"Like you would..." Danzo's words were cut when his head suddenly hanged down.

"Oh! Oops!" Akatsuchi exclaimed, causing Kurotsuchi to stare at him suspiciously. "I forgot to order the golem to stop tightening."

"Akatsuchi! You clumsy idiot!" Kurotsuchi shouted with blank eyes. "How are we supposed to get information out of him now that he's dead?"

"Don't worry, I'll give you another chance to do so." Both Iwa-nin heard a voice behind them. Kurotsuchi flipped and used her feet to push Akatsuchi away, before thrusting her right palm to block Danzo's kunai. Even though the kunai passed through her glove and stabbed Kurotsuchi's hand, no blood dripped and not even a slight gasp came from Kurotsuchi's mouth. Danzo however seemed to be quite surprised. "So that's from where those explosive kunais came from. Now I'm sure that you can also use the Explosion Style."

"Tsk." Kurotsuchi frowned and backed away, joining Akatsuchi and the Sand Siblings. "Akatsuchi, if you didn't stop your golem, then how is he alive? That should have killed him!"

"I don't know, Kurotsuchi-nee! Maybe I ordered him to stop after all?" The confused Akatsuchi hypothesized.

"What? How can you not be sure of something like that, you clumsy idiot?" Kurotsuchi once again shouted, once again with her eyes blank.

"You saw that, Shi?" Darui asked to his partner, trying his best to not look away from his opponents.

"I could only sense one source of chakra from him, so there's no way that was a clone. Maybe it's an illusion, but I can't be sure from here." Shi informed.

"Gosh, I'm feeling kinda sluggish...I really didn't want to fight them on my own, but since Danzo's is actually our priority, hmm..." Darui stared to his opponents for awhile and then heavily sighed. "Oh well, do what you have to do, Shi..."

"Right!" As soon as Shi left the pillar, Suigetsu charged with his broken blade again.

"If getting the old man is your priority, why waste time with us?" The former Mist shinobi asked while both struggled to gain an advantage.

"Look, boss ordered me to get Danzo and those two, but as his bodyguard I have to get both of you too. That makes a total of five guys I have to capture, one of them being strong enough to be nominated Hokage, so in my point of view, the best way to do this is to take care of the fodder and then release an all-out assault on the stronger one." Darui sighed, pushed away Suigetsu's blade, spun and tried a new slash, that Suigetsu struggled to block. "Your friend already left and since I'm getting tired, hmm...Sorry, I may have to start to use my Storm Style."

"Wood Style: Branching Forest" Yamato thrusted his right arm forward, transforming it in many intertwined wood tendrils that advanced in Torune's direction. The Root member simply punched the sharp and thick wood spear, desintegrating it in the process. "No way..."

"Persistent bastards..." Fu continued to come down from the pillar, avoiding Ao and Chojuro's attacks while doing so. As Chojuro raised his Hiramekarei to slam it on his opponent, Fu performed the Mind Distraction Jutsu hand seal, forcing the Mist Swordsman to suddenly turn and strike Ao with a baseball bat-like swing blow. While Fu watched Ao being sent high into the sky, the Hunter-nin suddenly turned into some stones that had been taken out of the pillar from one of Chojuro's earlier attacks. Sensing Ao behind him, Fu broke the hand seal and ducked out from another one of Ao's kama slashes. "_Substitution Jutsu..."_

"Red Secret Move: Machinery Triangles"

"Wind Style: Tornado Scythe Jutsu" The siblings combined attack put Danzo and the triangular blades with explosive balls in a wind vortex that caused a great explosion. Unfortunately, Danzo re-appeared many meters away, shocking everyone once again.

_"There has been no changes to their chakra and mine is stable too, so neither of us is caught in a genjutsu. What kind of jutsu is this?" _Shi thought as he remained hidden behind the stone pillar he had just came from. Then, without anyone expecting, Jugo appeared from the sky in a full level 2 transformation, similar to the one he used when he met Sasuke for the first time. The double axe handle connected with Danzo's body and to make sure the attack worked, Jugo grew jet booster appendages on his arms to double the damage on the fallen Root leader.

"Good offense." Danzo complimented as he appeared on top of the pillar where Darui and Suigetsu were fighting on. As soon as they heard him, both swordsmen who had been fighting until then slashed at the same time, only for the acting Hokage to dodge with a cartwheel. Danzo took out a kunai from the inside of his white shirt and exhaled wind chakra onto it, expanding the range of its weapon and shaping it like a scimitar. Darui and Suigetsu exchanged sword slashes with Danzo blocking them with quite some ease. Then, in two slashes, he disrupted the lightning chakra-flow that enveloped Darui's Cleaver Sword and sliced a small part of Suigetsu's Kubikiribocho.

"Oh, not again!" The upset Suigetsu complained as he stared into his weapon that was getting smaller with each battle. So distracted was Suigetsu that he could do nothing to avoid Danzo grabbing him by the throat and using his wind blade to slice off his left arm and part of his torso...Or so Danzo thought. The lost body part turned into water and wrapped Danzo's right arm like a whip, before joining together with its owner at the place where he was "injured". Suigetsu swiftly grabbed his broken sword with his right hand and gave Danzo a taste of his own medicine by cutting off his Sharingan arm.

"Storm Style: Laser Circus" A halo of bright energy appeared around Darui's hands, before spreading into many bright beams that hit Danzo's exposed torso, sending him flying from the stone pillar.

"Huh?" Ao, who was once again struggling to gain advantage in his kama fight against Fu, suddenly felt something behind his partner. "Chojuro! Behind you!"

"Wind Style: Vacuum Spheres" Danzo spat many small blasts of wind towards the young Swordsman, who put his sword in front of himself to block the bullets. Even though the sword was big and large, two of the bullets still passed by and pierced into Chojuro's flesh, knocking him out of the bridge.

"Darn it! Summoning Jutsu" Kankuro waved a scroll and summoned Karasu, sending the puppet after Chojuro. The puppet was fast enough to save the young man, much because of its incorporated flight mechanism. "Where's the medic-nin?"

"There's no need. I'm fi...Aaah ahh..." Chojuro frowned in pain as he tried to get up but he wasn't able to do so. "I saw him...He's doing, doing something important. I can hang on."

"_What is...?" _The surprised Shi asked to himself as he saw one of the Sharingans in Danzo's arm closing. "_What did just happen?"_

"Got you now!" Fu, whose hair got loose, managed to grab Ao from behind, wrapping his arms around his opponent's neck. "Danzo-sama!"

"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave" Danzo exhaled a wide blade of wind towards his subordinate and Ao. Yamato, who was fighting Torune at the side of the pillar, saw what was about to happen and created a wood pillar that pushed Ao and Fu away from the wind blade, before it was sliced in half. As that happened, Yamato nearly got touched by Torune who continued to pursue him. The broken wood pillar crashed against the bridge, making a loud noise that disguised Sasori's loud movements. The human puppet appeared in front of Danzo and slashed his body nearly in half with the five blades equipped on the right pole attached to the back of its hips.

"_Another one..." _Shi noticed another Sharingan closing as Danzo's corpse fell into the bridge's floor.

"It's no use." Danzo informed as he appeared back on top of the pillar where his bodyguards were fighting earlier. Suigetsu had made his way towards that same pillar and was already aiming for Danzo's blind spot, when he suddenly stopped.

"Hey, Suigetsu! Why did you stop?" Ao shouted as he kicked Fu away. Then, with his Byakugan, Ao noticed the chakra surrounding Suigetsu's body. "A seal? Shit!"

"_He must have done it back then!_" Darui thought as he remembered Danzo grabbing Suigetsu by the throat. Both Jounin from Kumo and Kiri jumped towards Danzo to slash him with their weapons, but the Root leader countered by kicking Darui away and slamming his right elbow into Ao's sternum. Immediately after, Danzo performed the ram hand seal.

"_Release."_

"_To use taijutsu, he must be conserving chakra for something big..._Wow! Akatsuchi throw me away now!" Kurotsuchi suddenly ordered.

"_There is no one who can reach me in time. I'll finish off these three quickly and then restart my jutsu." _Danzo thought as he prepared his wind scimitar-like weapon. Then, a loud noise came from behind him. That's what allowed Danzo to notice Jugo who was moving full speed ahead thanks to his jet boosters and avoid the fatal blow. Still, the axe appendage on Jugo's forearm made a cut on Danzo's left arm. As Jugo took the paralyzed Suigetsu away, Kurotsuchi appeared in the air and launched half a dozen kunais that got stuck on Danzo's right arm. Danzo's eyes widened and then an explosion occured.

"Did she get him?" Temari asked, just before Kurotsuchi landed by her side. "Did it work?"

"N-no..." The frustrated and surprised Kurotsuchi mumbled, with a drop of sweat slowly rolling down her face. "This guy..."

"_Can't be...That was a Wood Style!_" Yamato thought as the smoke cleared. Indeed, the right sleeve of Danzo's shirt had been ripped off, showing a semi-destructed wooden shield that was formed from his arm. _"So that's why a non-Uchiha was able to control so many Sharingans. Shodai's chakra and life force is really amazing...Damn it! When he sent Sai to Orochimaru...that wasn't the first time they had made a contact. Only him could give Danzo Shodai's powers."_

"_That's it! He can die! That amount of explosives would be enough to kill him if he hadn't raised a defense!" _Shi concluded and came out of his hiding place. "That's the real Danzo! You can kill him now!"

"_Sensor...I guess he's on me, but it's too late." _Danzo thought as he performed the same trio of hand seals he did on the start of the battle. At the same time, Shi noticed something.

"Wood Style: Branching Forest" After getting away from Torune once again, Yamato climbed the pillar and thrusted a wood tendril spear that stabbed Danzo in the torso.

"_Whatever he did changed his chakra a bit. It was some sort of jutsu!" _Shi thought with his mouth wide open. _"Oh no! This is bad!"_

"It really didn't work." The shinobi group heard before blood was spilled through the air.

"AKATSUCHI!" Kurotsuchi screeched as she saw her brother falling on his knees. Even though Kankuro still moved Karasu in front of him, Danzo's wind scimitar cut through it and still reached the large Iwa-nin, slightly slicing him across the chest. Temari rushed and swung her opened fan horizontally, with the wind chakra covering it allowing her to decapitate Danzo. It was useless though, as Danzo appeared some meters away once again. "DANZO!"

"Wait, Kurotsuchi!" Kankuro called but the Iwa kunoichi charged towards Danzo who was preparing a new wind sword.

"You're full of openings, young girl." Danzo waved his sword but failed to hit his opponent, who was suddenly pulled back by some sort of strings. As Kankuro held Kurotsuchi like a puppet, Temari attacked with her fan.

"Wind against wind is a bit tougher, isn't it old man?" Temari folded her fan and did a overhead motion to slam it against Danzo's skull, with the latter doing nothing to protect himself. "_Oh, shit!"_

"Wind Style: Vacuum Grand Sphere" Danzo reappeared from Temari's left side and unleashed a large wind sphere that exploded on Temari and blasted her away.

"Temari!" Kankuro shouted as he sent Kuroari to capture her in its torso, so she wouldn't fell out of the bridge.

"Water Style: Water Whip" The weapon made of water chakra wrapped Danzo's left arm, allowing Ao to cut it off with his kama. That Danzo disappeared and the real one grabbed the whip, pulling it and its creator along, before slicing his abdomen with a simple kunai.

_"Damn it! We're losing! C'mon Shi, calm down and think!" _The frightned Shi tried to focus as he was seeing his comrades falling one by one. He also saw another Sharingan closing. "_It's not like Madara's jutsu, things don't pass by him. The one that is struck disappears and the real one comes back. It's not a clone though, because there's only one source of chakra. It's not genjutsu, since everyone's chakra is flowing normally. Plus, whatever it is, it has to do with those eyes."_

"Ao-senpai!" Chojuro shouted as he forced himself forward. The hammer-shaped Hiramekarei crushed Danzo but another one appeared behind the young shinobi. He was prepared though and changed the chakra's shape into a buzzsaw, before turning to slice Danzo in half. Knowing the next one would attack from behind as well, Chojuro turned but found that he couldn't move his arms. He looked back and saw that Danzo had used the Water Whip created by Ao earlier to wrap his arms together. Another large wind shpere was exhaled, blasting Chojuro away.

"Kill!" Jugo screeched as he used another enhanced punch to knock away Danzo. His killing instincts were brief, perharps because of the seal placed on him by Sasuke, or perhaps because of his right hand being taken away by Danzo's wind sword. A slice through the chest knocked him back to the bridge's floor. By then, another Sharingan closed.

"_Danzo's chakra has been plummeting everytime one of those eyes closes. It must be pretty risky to him...That's why he canceled the jutsu earlier! He needed to conserve his chakra!" _Shi concluded, but he still didn't knew what that jutsu was. "_The only answer I can find is him reversing time, but time is always related to space. Each time he's "killed" he reappears on a different place, so there's no way he's doing such a thing. Oh man, the only thing I can think of is genjutsu, but our chakras are...chakras..."_

"Wood Style: Four Pillars Prison Jutsu" Yamato formed a wood cage around Fu and Torune and once again rushed towards his own Kage. _"If there's some connection between his jutsu and the Sharingans, then it should be over when all of them close. Can we hold on until then?"_

_"It was his chakra that changed, so he must have placed himself under a genjutsu!" _That was Shi's final conclusion, as a absurd as it sounded to him. _"For a moment, it's like he makes his injuries a dream and his well-being a reality. It's like it controls the space between reality and illusion. That would be the most powerful genjutsu ever! And like all great jutsus, it carries great risks...The eyes that closed, didn't open anymore. Having all those Sharingans, allows him to continuously use that jutsu. If he was a normal Uchiha, he would only be able to use it twice. It may be exactly that!"_

"Kankuro-san!" Darui shouted as he saw Kankuro crashing against the hard shield of his own puppet Sanshouo, after being blasted by one of Danzo's Vacuum Grand Spheres.

"Damn it! He have to hold on until all his eyes close!" Yamato remembered. Another one closed by then. "There's four left."

"If I'm right one closes each 60 seconds. We'll have to hold on four more minutes." Darui told to his partners, while his face was covered in sweat. Kurotsuchi, who was shaking in anger, suddenly screamed and charged towards their opponent. "Wait, Kurotsuchi-san!"

"Stop! He won't even need to use his Sharingans if you charge like that!" Yamato shouted but she didn't listen.

"_What is this?" _ Shi turned to the pillar parallel to the one he was hiding behind, as he felt a new presence. "_He must be waiting for a chance! I'll give it to him!"_

"DANZO!" Kurotsuchi shouted as she tried to stab a kunai on his face, only to fall on her knees after being delivered a hard punch to the gut. Danzo then reformed his wind weapon and attempted to kill her, but Darui intervened in time, pushing her out of the way and receiving a quite deep gash on his left shoulder as a result.

"Shit! Wood Style...!" To Yamato's great shock, Danzo appeared in front of him and lifted him by his throat.

"Thinking only about the way I avoid your moves was your mistake. I defeated the three of you, who are the strongest here, without needing Izanagi. I only needed a simple Body Flicker to reach you, didn't I?" Danzo released his opponent who was binded by the Hokage's seal. As he was about to recreate the wind scimitar, Shi appeared near Danzo with the same simple Body Flicker and performed the ram seal. "_I forgot about this one. It doesn't matter, since Izanagi is still in effect."_

"Release!" Shi shouted as he touched Danzo's forehead, much to the latter's shock. With the genjutsu dispelled, Shi prepared a new attack but was sent flying away with a powerful backfist.

"_Shit! I wasn't expecting...What?" _Danzo couldn't believe as he saw the samurai with a beard and bandages around his head charging towards him with his sword in hand, while still showing the signs of his last battle. "_I don't have time to..."_

"Say goodbye to the eyes you stole, Danzo!" The battered Mifune shouted as he waved his katana. Blood was spilled into the air, as it was the rotten arm filled with red eyeballs. Danzo's weapon was no more.

* * *

Yup, I rushed the Danzo fight. I really want to move forward...

Cookies (!) for the first one to find out which fight I inspired myself in to write the part where Danzo starts to eliminate his opponents one by one...

**Next Chapter:** The One in Control

-Nawirama13

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-NawiramaWikia-

1. Jutsu:

1.1. Sealing Jutsu: Restraining Seal - the seal that Danzo used in this chapter against both Suigetsu and Yamato and in the manga against Sasuke. Danzo grabs his opponent by the throat and places a time-delayed seal. After the set time passes, black marking will envelop the enemy's body, restraining his movements.

2. Characters:

2.1 Kurotsuchi's family - Akatsuchi is the younger of four siblings. Kurotsuchi is the second youngest. In time, the two older brothers will be revealed.

-Nawirama13


	6. The One in Control

Sorry for the waiting! Final moments of the Five Kage Summit Arc coming up next...

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Chapter 006 - The One in Control

**

* * *

Flashback**

"Guh, gh...What a demon!" Mifune mumbled as he struggled to get on his knees. If felt like all the bones in his body had been broken. Jūgo really did a number on him. "Urakaku...Okisuke...Please, answer me!"

"Mifune-sōtaichō..." Okisuke called in a whisper. Mifune came near him, shaking in anger by what had been done to his men. "I can't feel my arms, I won't be of any help to you. My greatest apologies."

"Fool! Why do you apologize? Like it would be your fault..." Mifune then turned to the other samurai who was still unconscious, his face layed on the snow. "I'll come back for both of you. I promise you that!"

"Sōtaichō...There's no need..."

"Of course there's a need! No one is left behind, whether it is samurai or an ally shinobi!" Mifune scolded his bodyguard.

**End of Flashback**

"Release!" Shī shouted as he touched Danzō's forehead, much to the latter's shock. With the genjutsu dispelled, Shī prepared a new attack but was sent flying away with a powerful backfist.

"_Shit! I wasn't expecting...What?" _Danzō couldn't believe as he saw the battered Mifune charging towards him with his sword in hand. "_I don't have time to..."_

"Say goodbye to the eyes you stole, Danzō!" Mifune shouted as he waved his katana, cutting off Danzō's Sharingan arm in half.

"Puny samurai, how dare you?" Danzō angrily shouted, but before the Root leader could do something about his new opponent, he fell on his knees and held his injured arm in pain.

"Danzō-sama! Hurry up, Torune! He's vulnerable without his arm!" Fū hurried his partner, who was sending his insects to devour the cage that was trapping both ANBUs. Then, a loud and painful scream made them freeze.

"Gaaaaaaaah!" Danzō screamed as his right arm was starting to expand into many wood tendrils. "_Shit! At this rate, Shodai's cells will swallow me whole! You had this set up, didn't you Orochimaru?"_

"_Looks like losing half of his arm made him lose control over Shodai's chakra." _The immobilized Yamato thought as he saw Danzō ripping the rest of his own arm off. "_It's not easy to control such a power."_

"I'm not done yet! This is just beginning!" Danzō claimed as he removed the bandages around his right eye. Mifune charged but missed his slash, with Danzō disappearing and reappearing at a far away distance.

"_He was just using that jutsu until Shisui's eye was working again. That was Shisui's Body Flicker." _Ao recognized while he got back on one knee, helding his bloody belly with his right hand.

"Torune, destroy them!" Danzō ordered as he launched his two right arms towards his bodyguard who caught them. "Get out of here as soon as you're finished! Remain in the shadows like the Root members you are!"

"What?" The confused Torune asked. His bugs were swiftly destroying the evidences that linked Danzō with Orochimaru and the Uchiha massacre.

"Danzō-sama is right...If we get caught, Inoichi will be able to read our minds and discover everything our organization has done." Fū explained with a frown. "We'll have to abandon him."

"Won't he able to read Danzō-sama's mind?" Torune asked and a smirking Fū shook his head.

"Danzō-sama has surely taken measures to prevent that. He'll be fine." Fū assured. By now, both flesh and wooden arms had been destroyed by the poisonous nano-bugs. "Let's go, Torune."

_"I underestimated them..." _Danzō thought as he analyzed the battlefield. Shī and Mifune were standing by the side of the sealed Yamato. Kurotsuchi and Darui were getting up, the latter's left arm covered in blood. Ao was on his knees, not too far from the last two. "_Five. Shisui's Body Flicker will take away all my chakra if I use it too much. I'll need one..."_

"Should we?" Kurotsuchi asked to Darui who simply nodded, before both rushed towards the injured old shinobi. It happened in less than a second. Danzō appeared between both and kicked Darui away, before grabbing Kurotsuchi by the throat. As soon as her body was covered in the black marks that composed the Restraining Seal, Danzō moved behind her and held her as a shield. "_Shit! We were so careless!"_

"Talking about self-sacrifice and then making hostages..." The furious Darui mumbled.

"It's not...my life I'm worried about." The panting Danzō countered. "For Konoha...for the ninja world...I can't die yet...I'll do anything to...survive and...change this world..."

"Tss...Hypocrite!" Darui's insult made Danzō chuckle.

"If you don't want this girl to be another sacrifice, move." Danzō ordered but Darui stood there with his head hanged down.

"Sorry, Kurotsuchi-san...Storm Style: Laser Circus"

"_Oh, shit..." _Kurotsuchi thought as she saw the halo of bright energy surrounding Darui's hands. The Kumo-nin unleashed the beams of energy that bypassed the sealed Kurotsuchi and stroke Danzō's torso. The Root leader backrolled as soon as his back touched the bridge's floor and turned to run away from Darui, but was intercepted by Shī. The man with the stolen Sharingan used the Body Flicker Jutsu again and passed by the Kumogakure sensor.

"_Another one..." _Danzō frowned as Ao appeared in front of him. Another Body Flicker followed. As the jutsu's effects ended, Danzō felt a stabbing pain in his left thigh. Looking down, Danzō saw a kneeled Ao and the kama in his hand going through the first's leg. "Im-Impossible!"

"Demonic Illusion: Stagnating Wheel...it was the trick behind Shisui's unbeatable Body Flicker. A visual genjutsu that slows the time flow on whoever he casts it." Danzō snarled as he remembered Ao already had fought Shisui. "Once one's movements are slower, there's no way they can reach the speed of even a regular Body Flicker. That's what it was, Shisui's Body Flicker was as simple as it gets. He was just blessed with the eyes that can cast illusions without the need of hand seals. It was the perfect and nearly undetectable combination."

"Exactly, it's perfect so how?" Danzō demanded an answer.

"Once again, it's so simple. The Body Flicker is accomplished by using chakra to temporarily vitalise the body and move at extreme speeds. By using it, I was able to counter the effects of the illusion. It's a faster solution than releasing the genjutsu." Ao explained and a smirk appeared on his face. "So you see, I just moved my body fast enough to prepare my kama and you just ran into it. Now, for the fun part...the Body Flicker Jutsu is useless if you can't move at all! You lose, Danzō! You can't run away any longer with that injured leg of yours!"

"Perhaps, but...haven't you noticed?" Ao's reaction was to drop the smirk and stare confused to his opponent. That all seemed to be so slow for Danzō who was already lifting his left arm to attack. "You didn't release the genjutsu! How in the hell will you stop me from killing you now, huh?"

"Don't need to..." That was Ao's simple answer. Danzō felt something stabbing him again, this time in his left shoulder.

"_Damn him! From my blind spot..." _Danzō cursed the samurai who once again injured him. Mifune's katana was keeping Danzō's arm stretched to his left side and there was nothing that the manipulative elder could do to change it.

"You were careless, Danzō." Mifune told to his opponent. "It's over for you, now."

"Over?"

**Flashback**

"20...We're surrounded." The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, revealed to his partners after lifting his palm from the ground. "From the way they're tracking us, I'd say they are Kumogakure's Master Hunters. Without a doubt...the Kinkaku Force."

"There's only seven of us including Nidaime-sama. There's no way..."

"They don't know our exact location yet!" Koharu interrupted her partner Homura. "We should lie in wait for them and take them by surprise! We still have a chance to escape!"

"That won't be easy..." Kagami from the Uchiha clan pondered. "Someone will have to lure them away."

"A decoy?" Torifu Akimichi asked before staring down sadly. "Whoever goes...won't survive..."

"_I am a ninja...I will die in battle as a ninja...What are you thinking right now, Sarutobi? Are you willing to make such a sacrifice? I'll...do it! Yeah, I'll be the one!" _Danzō thought as he stared to the member of the Sarutobi Clan, Hiruzen. The silence remained between the seven shinobi from the Leaf. Danzō was about stand up but was unable to do so. His entire body was shakening. _"I'll do it! I'll...Why can't I? Why can't I step forward and say it? I..."_

"I'll do it!"

"Hiruzen? You..." Homura stared in desbelief to his sibling disciple. He didn't like the idea of losing one of his best friends.

"Eh! Don't worry! I'm the best of all of us, so I won't die that easily." The confident Hiruzen assured to his partners.

_"Damn it! I'm...I'm weak..." _Danzō couldn't believe in himself. The shakening had stopped as soon as Hiruzen offered himself to go. "_Part of me...is actually relieved! My father...My grandfather...they died as ninjas in battle. Self-sacrifice is a ninja's duty, so why can't I..."_

"Take care of the others, Danzō." Hiruzen asked and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I know you'll..."

"Shut up, Sarutobi!" Danzō suddenly erupted, pushing Hiruzen's hand away. "I was about to raise my hand! Don't try to act like you're so great! I'll be the decoy!"

"Danzo..." The shocked Hiruzen mumbled. No one noticed Tobirama smirking while the argument took place, but after it was over they all noticed him standing with a deep serious look on his face.

"I will be the decoy. You are the bright young flames who must protect the village."

"You can't! You're the Hokage!" The shocked Danzō shouted.

"You and Saru have always been rivals in everything, but right now what we need is unity. Don't bring your personal squabbles into this." Tobirama scolded. Danzō fell into silence and stared down in shame. "It's true I was slow with my decision. There was a motive for that. Danzō, Saru...There's no need to be hasty at your age. One day that time will come. Just stay alive until then...Oh, one more thing, Saru. Protect those who have faith in you and who love the village. Train those to whom you can entrust the next generation."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" The confused Hiruzen asked.

"I mean that tomorrow you'll be Hokage." Tobirama revealed, shocking everyone, especially the man with the cross-shaped scar in his chin. Danzō had once again lost to Hiruzen.

**End of Flashback**

"Never! It won't end that easily! I'm Danzō Shimura, Rokudaime Hokage!" Danzō proclaimed. Somehow, he regained control over his left arm and was preparing to do something as wind chakra enveloped his hand and forearm. "I deserve it! Aren't the Kages supposed to sacrifice themselves for their people and then entrust the village to the next generation? I'm doing what I'm doing for the peace of my village! I'm doing it to enhance its strength! I'm..."

"At the moment..." Darui charged and used his Cleaver Sword to cut down Danzō's remaining arm, shocking the latter once again. "...the only thing you are is armless."

"Are you sure of that?" Danzō shouted as his Sharingan started to glow. Before whatever jutsu Danzō tried to use worked, his eye closed and he wasn't able to open it back. "_What? Izanagi isn't in effect! How..._Sensor, you bastard!" Danzō shouted as he noticed Shī maintaining a horse hand seal. As the self-proclaimed Sixth Hokage was about to release the genjutsu, he remembered he couldn't perform the ram seal since his arms were missing. "Shit!"

"Barrier Jutsu: Locking Tag Barrier" After a bird hand seal, the talismans in Ao's ears detached themselves and flew towards Danzō's Sharingan, covering it completely.

"Genjutsu: Binding" Shī put Danzō in another genjutsu, rendering him incapable of movement. Without arms, Sharingans and mobility, Danzō stopped being a threat.

"Sorry but from where I'm standing, you look both armless and harmless." Darui stated, before sighing heavily. This fight was finally over.

* * *

"Where am I?" Gaara asked to himself. He was floating in the middle of nowhere. The only thing he could see was white, complete whiteness. Somehow, the place he found himself in was kind of nostalgic. As much as he thought about it, he couldn't remember when he had been there, even though he was pretty sure it wasn't too long ago. He stared at his right hand. Seemed nostalgic as well. Perhaps because he saw his own hands each and every day...No, there was more to it than that. Looking forward once again, he saw a blur in the middle of nothing, a figure that was coming closer to him. "What is this?"

"You're talking about me or about this place?" The person in front of him asked. It was a girl, slightly older than him, perhaps of Temari's age. She wore a sleeveless blue vest that revealed her belly and a skirt of the same color opened in the sides over tight white shorts. She had blond long hair wrapped in a slightly spiked ponytail, a bang hanging over her left eye and long strands that framed her face. Her haircut kind of reminded him of that Deidara guy he once fought. That annoyed him...She was pretty though, Gaara thought, except for...the same tanuki-like black eye rings he had. That perturbed him. Was it just the consequences of normal insomnia or something else?

"Both I guess." Gaara answered to the young woman. She giggled.

"Well, this is your subconscious. Kinda empty aren't you?" The girl stated, referring to the nothingness they were into. "I guess it's normal, considering you were the Ichibi's Jinchuriki. All those years without sleeping developed your consciousness to a point there wasn't a need for the subconscious half. It should be better than be consumed by Shukaku, right Gaara?"

"How do you know me?" The surprised Gaara asked. She stared down and remained silent for awhile, until a quite evil chuckle was heard.

"Kukuku...Does this ring a bell?" She looked back to Gaara and, to his shock, her blue eyes were replaced by Shukaku's black sclera and yellow irides. The chuckles turned into the crazy high-pitched screech-like laughs of the One-Tailed Shukaku.

"You were supposed to be dead, so what are you still doing here?" Gaara inquired in a calm and quite cold tone. Shukaku stopped laughing.

"How am I supposed to know? This is your subconscious, you tell me. Suddenly, I appear in the middle of nothing and, to top it off, I've taken the form of my first Jinchuriki! Damn, I'm pissed!" Shukaku kept cursing as he walked towards Gaara. The voice that came out of the girl's mouth was still hers though.

"It seems you know a lot about this subconscious stuff." Gaara pointed out.

"Of course. When the ones like me are sealed inside a human, our chakra is sent to the seal placed on your bodies and our mind and soul is sent into a far away corner of your subconscious. I used to live inside of a sand castle, much better than this." Shukaku then reached his last Jinchuriki and his mocking tone shifted into a serious one. "I guess that for some reason a small portion of my soul was left dormant inside of you. Something must have awakened me, for some motive I'm needed. It's the best explanation I can find."

"Something awakened you..." Gaara pondered for awhile, until he reminded of himself looking into Madara's Sharingan. Apparently, while under Madara's control, Gaara's conscious self was pushed to the subconscious world he was in right now. Considering he would never go there on his own, it was Madara's jutsu that caused the meeting between Gaara and the beast formerly sealed inside of him. "This will sound strange, Shukaku, but I want to thank you."

"Huh?"

* * *

"Zetsu..." Madara called the black half, the one that was present. "Take Sasuke back to the hideout and then go fetch your white part."

"**Understood.**" Zetsu walked towards Sasuke and picked him over his shoulder. As he was about to leave, Naruto charged with a Rasengan that would have caught him if it wasn't for the sand shield raised by Gaara. Between the moment Naruto's Rasengan touched the sand and the moment it dispersed, Zetsu made his escape.

"Damn it, Gaara! What the hell are you doing?" Naruto asked but got no answer. The Kyuubi's Jinchuriki felt the sand moving around him and jumped before he was trapped in the so well-known Sand Coffin. What Naruto wasn't expecting was the flying ability of the Tsuchikage who charged towards him like a missile and pressed him to sand, the impact raising a considerable amount of it.

"Naruto!"

"Hey!" Ē shouted, calling Kakashi's attention. "Let him fight his own battles! We'll hold the other Kages while you use that Sharingan of yours to either break the genjutsu or defeat Madara!"

"_This won't be easy..." _Kakashi thought as he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. Before he took any action, Kakashi was already seeing the damaged Ē pushing the Mizukage and Tsuchikage away from Naruto. _"What incredible will!"_

"_Shit! They took Sasuke away again! And now Gaara...Huh?" _The ground below Naruto started to loosen, causing him to sink. "GAARA! Wake up, dammit! Why are you letting yourself get controllled like that again? Why, Gaara?"

"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted as Naruto was half way into the sand. As he was about to rush towards his student, Madara appeared right in front of him.

"That eye doesn't belong you, Kakashi!" Madara stated in a quite spiteful tone. The Akatsuki leader summoned a kunai into his hand and used it to slash Kakashi who disappeared in a puff of smoke. The real Kakashi appeared from behind his opponent with a Lightning Blade on his hand but the jutsu passed through Madara. "The Sharingan is the sign from the Uchiha clan and you aren't even Uchiha. The fact you use it is insulting."

"Says someone who betrayed that same clan." Kakashi recalled their earlier talk as he backed away from Madara. Then, he focused his left eye on his opponent and a swirl pattern appeared in front of Madara. Surprisingly though, the warping barrier wasn't growing and Kakashi was struggling just to maintain it. _"Could it be...?"_

"I told you once that this wouldn't work, Kakashi." Madara remembered, as both struggled to gain the advantage over the barrier. "There's no way your Kamui is stronger than mine."

"Gaara! Don't let them control you again! Don't let Madara...GAARA!"

"Sand Style: Prison Sand Burial" Gaara intoned as Naruto was completely sucked in by the desert below him.

* * *

"You sure have gained some nerve...You thanking me? For what? For getting my powers?" Shukaku asked, causing Gaara to stare at him both surprised and confused. "Yeah, I know it. I know you've gained my powers. I can feel it as we speak..."

"That's not it..." Gaara shook his head. "I've become strong, yes, but not only because of your powers. I could hate you for everything I've been put through. Having people trying to kill me, having no friends, having people trying to take advantage of my...your powers..."

"Could? You can't possible mean you don't hate me." Shukaku chuckled but stopped as he saw Gaara was dead serious.

"Hate you? Why? Weren't you sealed against your will? No, it was the Fourth's fault. You were used like I was." Shukaku was staring at him with his mouth open. "What was your existence? Always being considered as a weapon...How could you not be cunning? How could you not have that bloodlust you have? How could you not relish on the oppurtunity to kill anyone in sight? I know it better than anyone...I understand you."

"Eh? Eheheh...YAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Shukaku's loud and maniacal laughs filled the space they were in. "You understand me? Right, right...If you understand me, then why do you think I care about this bullshit? I'm a weapon! A killing machine! I don't need this understanding and friendly speech!"

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have met Naruto and all the other people who pushed me forward. I know it's weird, but if you weren't there, I wouldn't have the motivation to become better. There wouldn't be the need of strengthening myself to the point where people would distinguish myself from you." Gaara continued, bringing another surprised and softer look to the face of the first Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Shukaku. "From there, people started to respect me and to like me. I became Kazekage. What would I be if you weren't there until then? Maybe I would be a happy and average ninja, but I wouldn't be feeling the happiness I feel now and that's something I won't trade for anything. Even if my past wasn't the best...this present sure is, so...thanks Shukaku."

"GAARA! Wake up, dammit! Why are you letting yourself get controllled like that again? Why, Gaara?"

"That voice...Naruto?" Gaara mumbled as he suddenly heard the voice of his friend.

"_The Nine-tails boy..." _Shukaku thought and recalled the conversation he just had with Gaara. Looking at his hands, Shukaku knew his time was short. They were starting to fade away. "_Hmph! If there's a reason for me to come back, I may as well go along with it..._Eheheheh!"

"What are you laughing at?" Gaara asked to the "woman" who walked towards him.

"All this talk was only good to spend our time. You thank me for making you stronger, but is it true? It looks like your still the same brat that is so easily controlled."

"Huh?"

"Gaara! Don't let them control you again! Don't let Madara...GAARA!" Naruto's voice once again echoed through Gaara's subconscious world.

"Instead of thanking me, show me! Show me your growth, Gaara! Break free from this Madara's control!" Shukaku demanded.

"Shukaku..." Gaara stared at him, completely shocked by Shukaku's words. A smile appeared on the Kazekage's and he too started to fade away. He still saw the female body slowly disappearing, but much slower than Gaara's.

"_Eh, who would ever say that this would be the last doing of the Incarnation of the Sand..." _Shukaku thought as Gaara left that plane. By then, only the first Jinchuriki's head was visible. "_Thanks, Gaara..."_

* * *

"_No way..." _Madara thought as he heard Gaara screaming loudly. The Kazekage fell on his knees and was helding his own head in pain. By looking just a inch away, Madara almost lost control of Kamui, but still corrected his mistake in time. The screams stopped. Madara wanted to look away but knew he couldn't, as he was gaining the advantage over Kakashi who was already on only one knee.

"Sand Style Ultimate Attack: Spear of Shukaku" Gaara launched the halberd shaped like Shukaku's claw, that flew towards Madara.

"_Shit! To warp away or become intangible I'll have to stop Kamui, but if I do, Kakashi's will get me instantly." _Gaara's sand spear was about to struck Madara, but the latter threw himself into the ground, avoiding the spear which was sucked in by Kakashi's Kamui. As soon as Madara fell into the ground, he warped himself away. "Kazekage! How did you break free of my Mugen Tsukuyomi?"

"Don't know...Only thing I know is...I have to prove myself...to someone..." The tired Gaara said, sweat covering his face. "From now on, I'm the one in control! Let's end this...Madara!"

"Gaara-kun..." Kakashi mumbled before he started to feel the sand below him shaking. Surprisingly, Gaara didn't seem to be expecting that. A large amount of sand was raised and from it came Naruto, orange markings around his yellow eyes. Shocking was the size of the sphere of chakra in his hand. "Oh my..."

"Sage Art: Super Odama Rasengan"

* * *

**Next Chapter**: The Mayhem Concludes! End of the Summit (Last Chapter of the Five Kage Summit Arc)

-Nawirama13

* * *

-NawiramaWikia-

1. Jutsu:

1.1 - Demonic Illusion: Stagnating Wheel - The trick behind Shisui's Body Flicker, a Sharingan-only Genjutsu. It delays the time flow on whoever the illusion is casted.

1.2 - Barrier Jutsu: Locking Tag Barrier - The talismans in Ao's ears detach themselves from his ears and flow towards one of his opponent's body parts, covering it and rendering it useless. The talismans are directed by Ao's chakra. It's specially effective against Dojutsus.

1.3 - Genjutsu: Failing Body Activity - The Genjutsu used by Shi on Danzo, to make him think he had his Sharingan closed. It's an illusion that consists on rendering one's body part useless when in fact it isn't.

1.4 - Sand Style Ultimate Attack: Spear of Shukaku - Renamed version of Ultimately Hard Absolute Attack: Spear of Shukaku

-Nawirama13


	7. The Mayhem Concludes! End of the Summit

Sorry! Took too long, I know...

I've been adding some info at the end of each chapter, mainly to let you know how I name some jutsus or to clarify some things about certain characters. It may be useful for you, because sometimes I rename some jutsus because I don't like how they originally sound.

I want to thank you for the reviews, specially to kail420 who gave me some tips that I've already been putting to use.

* * *

Chapter 007 - The Mayhem Concludes! End of the Summit

* * *

"Sand Style Ultimate Attack: Spear of Shukaku" Gaara launched the halberd shaped like Shukaku's claw, that flew towards Madara.

"_Shit! To warp away or become intangible I'll have to stop Kamui, but if I do, Kakashi's will get me instantly." _Gaara's sand spear was about to struck Madara, but the latter threw himself into the ground, avoiding the spear which was sucked in by Kakashi's Kamui. As soon as Madara fell into the ground, he warped himself away. "Kazekage! How did you break free of my Mugen Tsukuyomi?"

"Don't know...Only thing I know is...I have to prove myself...to someone..." The tired Gaara said, sweat covering his face. "Let's end this...Madara!"

"Gaara-kun..." Kakashi mumbled before he started to feel the sand below him shaking. Surprisingly, Gaara didn't seem to be expecting that. A large amount of sand was raised and from it came Naruto, orange markings around his yellow eyes. Shocking was the size of the sphere of chakra in his hand. "Oh my..."

"Sage Art: Super Odama Rasengan" Naruto slammed the huge sphere of chakra into Madara's body. A loud explosion occured, causing the sand pile to crumble almost completely.

"_What is that?" _As the sand finally stabilized, Gaara stared to his friend in awe. The Kazekage could feel the powerful energy that came from Naruto's body, thanks to the the sensor wind and sand jutsus activated earlier. Plus, he noticed Naruto's toad-like eyes, yellow irises with horizontal bar-like pupils and the reddish-orange pigment mark on each eye.

"Hey! Are you awake, Gaara?" Naruto shouted to the former Jinchuriki.

"Huh? Yeah..." Still in awe by Naruto's new power, Gaara shook his head to focus. "Thanks to you."

"Thanks for making me remain still. I wouldn't be able to enter Sage Mode if it wasn't for your jutsu." Naruto smirked as he stretched his right arm.

"_Sage Mode?" _

"_He's back..." _Naruto's eyes suddenly widened and he turned to the place where a new whirl pattern appeared. A panting Madara reappeared with the upper right part of his orange mask broken, revealing his right eye but not much else. The pupil had the shape of three linked black orbs, on top of a black "Y" mark that spreaded over the red iris. That was Madara's Eien no Mangekyō Sharingan._"I hit him? I thought he would just warp!"_

"Naruto..." Kakashi whispered as he landed by his student's side.

"Your Sharingan...How did I hit him?" Naruto asked, hoping that his teacher's enhanced eye had noticed something but Kakashi just shook his head.

"Not sure, but he warped a lot slower. The chakra flow in his body is considerably weaker than when he met him earlier. He must be running out of chakra, so his techniques don't work as effectively." Kakashi gave his opinion. Behind them, Gaara's eyes widened and he clapped his hands together, causing the sand around him to wrap the Mizukage and the Tsuchikage who were attacking from his blind spot. The Fifth Kazekage's vision started to fail and he fell forward, but the Raikage stopped him with his right arm.

"Don't go to sleep now, or those two will get free again." Ē remembered the younger Kage, as he forced him to stand.

"_So this is Sage Mode...Who would say?" _Madara angrily thought as he raised his hand to the broken part of his mask. _"It consists in gathering natural energy and mix it with chakra...Not that different from Hashirama's Adamantine Powers."_

**Flashback**

"Adamantine Power: Acala" The bleeding Hashirama shouted as he pressed the sphere of chakra and gathered natural energy into the swirl pattern in front of him. Both forces collided and, after a short confrontation, the swirling pattern inverted its direction. Madara's body was suddenly brought back to the its original dimension, much to his shock. With Hashirama's Acala being not even half of what it was, the First Hokage slammed it into his opponent's torso to make sure he wouldn't escape again. Then, he drew the katana on his back and slashed through Madara's face, cutting through his left eye, until the sword reached the Uchiha's abdomen. The sphere of energy exploded and sent Hashirama's rival flying to the valley created earlier, during their long battle.

**End of Flashback**

_"The natural energy draws me back when I'm travelling between dimensions. It's purest form of Yang that can even counter the Sharingan's Yin chakra." _Madara stared to his opponents and chuckled. "_Kakashi did a mistake. Even with that mask covering his face, I could read the movements of his lips. They've made a wrong assumption, even though I'm actually running out of gas. The secret of how to counter my jutsu is still safe."_

"We have to think of a plan." Kakashi said.

"There's no time! We have to get him now that he's weaker!" Naruto shouted as he charged towards the Akatsuki leader. _"And before Sage Mode ends!"_

"Don't! Naruto!" Kakashi shouted but Naruto didn't stop. A wicked look appeared in Madara's Eternal Sharingan as Naruto approached with two spheres of chakra in his hands.

"_Naruto's Sage Mode isn't as effective as Hashirama's Adamantine Powers, but apparently he can use the gathered energy in more than one attack._" Naruto jumped towards his opponent and slammed the Rasengan in his left hand into his opponent who simply dodged by jumping and followed with a midair roundhouse kick to the neck of the jinchuriki. _"The simplest way to keep it secret is to fight him for real. There's no way he can keep up with..."_

"Is that all?" Naruto didn't move even an inch thanks to the extra durability given to him by being in Sage Mode. He lifted both hands up and attempted to sandwich Madara between both spheres. "Rasenrengan"

"Not quite!" Madara shouted, as he spun in midair to seat himself on Naruto's shoulders. The Akatsuki leader grabbed his opponent's right wrist and slammed the Rasengans together, causing another great explosion. As Naruto was sent flying by the impact of his own jutsu, Madara didn't let go of him as he wrapped his legs around the blond's neck. The Uchiha bent his upper body forward, causing his eye to meet Naruto's. "It's about time, Naruto!"

"_S-shit..." _Naruto's eyes suddenly widened, before his facial expression turned blank. His eyes closed as he crashed on top of Kakashi who had grabbed him in midair. Some meters away, another Kakashi landed on top of Madara after pushing him away from Naruto. He pinned him to the sand and attempted to stab him with a Lightning Blade, but Madara grabbed him by the throat before he could. As the clone was warped away, Madara sat up and saw the real Kakashi staring at him on one knee.

**Flashback**

"Well, isn't that a bit far-fetched?" Kakashi asked to the Toad Sage. He was still recovering from the mission to rescue Gaara, when the Sannin approached him to talk about some of his suspicions.

"I know what you're thinking. There's no way he would be alive 15 years ago and we know that he has been defeated by Shodai Hokage at the Valley of the End...but still..." Jiraiya trailed off.

"Why Konoha, right?" Kakashi asked to the older shinobi who nodded. "If the Kyuubi was really a natural disaster that appears to attack areas wherever human malice had collected and festered, then why not the Bloody Mist Village?"

"Or the Hidden Cloud that has been after other villages' Bloodline Limits for years." Jiraiya added.

"And he certainly had his own motives." Kakashi pondered and rubbed the back of his own head. "If he somehow survived until that day, it's more than likely that he's still alive."

"That's what worries me...What are his motives? The Uchiha clan has been eradicated, so it's likely that he'll aim for Konoha. I can't get this idea from my head...He'll want to use the Kyuubi again." Jiraiya had a deep frown on his face and Kakashi sighed heavily.

"Naruto..."

"Yes." Jiraiya nodded again, before he layed the briefcase he had been holding to on Kakashi's lap. "This is for you."

"Poison?" Kakashi asked after opening the briefcase. It was filled up with dart-like shots that contained some kind of chemical inside.

"I have a briefcase like that. Those shots are filled with a powerful poison that will knock someone out for a long time. Shizune prepared them for me."

"She doesn't know their true purpose..." Jiraiya smirked, since Kakashi's sentence wasn't a question.

"If I told her a slight part of my suspicions, she would go immediately to Tsunade or worse...She thinks it's for one of my infiltration missions." Jiraiya sighed, before turning serious once again. "If by any chance Naruto faces Sasuke, Itachi or...him..."

"To stop them from bringing the Kyuubi out, you want me to knockout Naruto..."

"Right. If they don't stare into his subconscious, where the fox his being kept, they won't be able to control it." Jiraiya explained. "Of course, there are other ways to pull out the beasts, but the quickest known way is by using the Sharingan, and it's the only one that would allow them to control it at the same time. Kakashi, if by any chance Naruto stares into their eyes directly..."

"Don't worry, I know what I'll have to do." Kakashi said as he closed the briefcase. "_I think Itachi would simply knock him out and I doubt Sasuke would have any interest in controlling the fox. If I'm forced to use this in the future...well, that would be a really bad sign..."_

**End of Flashback**

"_Eh..." _Kakashi looked from the injection shot in his hand to the drooling Genin, before eye-smiling. "At least I did it..."

_"It seems like this entire plan was a failure..." _Madara thought as he looked to his severed arm, then to his opponents and finally to the Kages, both injured ones and the two enveloped in Gaara's sand. _"Things didn't happen as I thought they would...I got control over the Kages, they were the perfect pawns, but that Kazekage kid made things a lot more difficult...Still, Naruto ended up appearing at the summit like I wanted. It's a shame I couldn't get him today...It's not like I'm gonna let Sasuke fight him at this point. I can't risk him. Besides, thanks to Zetsu, Sasuke's development reached its peak. This little battle wasn't a complete fail."_

"_I'll have to be very careful. Even though he's weaker, he can still pick Naruto and warp away with him." _As Kakashi assumed a defensive stance, Madara straightned himself into a more relaxed posture, much to Hatake's surprise.

"I admit defeat, Kakashi. I can't go on fighting like this. I'll get Naruto some other day." Kakashi's eyes widened in shock at the lightness of Madara's words. "Naruto surprised me a lot with his new powers. I won't be as careless next time."

"Why aren't you coming after him now that he's knocked unconscious?" Kakashi asked suspiciously, but Madara just shrug it off.

"I'm lacking an arm to form hand seals to fight you one on one. Besides, it's not like you would let go of him...I know you'll only attack at the moment I appear to pick him up, so there's no point." Madara pointed an accusatory finger to the Leaf Jounin, before shifting its direction to the Kazekage. "And there's also the sensory jutsus of that young man that will be an hindrance. I've got to tell you Gaara-kun, I'm really surprised by what I saw from you today."

"What are your true plans?" Gaara asked, while he was having a hard time to maintain his eyes open. "Taking control of the villages was never your goal...Your real goal has something to do with that thing that was inside Sasuke."

"Like I said before, Sasuke was sent here to develop his skills. Zetsu was just a tool that allowed that development to be faster." Madara explained. "But yes, I never intended to take over your puny villages. I just wanted to use you as my soldiers in this battle. The real motive was to get that boy."

"Then why didn't you do that earlier when you met us?" Kakashi countered.

"Because you were guarding him like ninja hounds. That meeting's point was to play with Naruto's emotions. You saw how eager he was to attack me earlier. He was full of openings for me to exploit and I would have taken control over him and his beast if it wasn't for your little trick, Kakashi."

"Then what you said earlier...everything was a lie?" Kakashi asked.

"No, everything was true. Naruto and Sasuke are destined to fight eachother. I'm just trying to bend destiny by getting Naruto before they have a chance to do it."

"Madara..."

"Don't stare at me like that, Kakashi. You can choose to believe me or not. Your opinion doesn't interfere the slightest bit with my plans." Madara said as he started to pass his hand by his body, making it disappear from that dimension. "Until next time, Kakashi."

"You could've at least tried to warp him back with your jutsu." Ē barked to the Copy Ninja. At the same time, the exhausted Gaara fell on his knees.

"When he warps, that swirling pattern moves in the same direction as my Kamui. That's why it doesn't work. Instead of stopping him, I would allow him to escape even faster." Kakashi exhaled a deep sigh. _"Jiraiya-sama was so right..."_

* * *

"Kakashi-senpai..." Yamato called as they moved through the woods. The Copy Ninja didn't answer. "I can take Naruto-kun for awhile."

"Let it be. I can go on for a little longer." Kakashi once again refused to let go of his student. Yamato suppressed a sigh.

**Flashback**

"Provoke them?" The confused Chojuro asked. Through the two holes in his blue pin-striped shirt, it could be seen that his torso was bandaged up, like many of the others that had fought Danzo.

"Yes. Naruto appealed to my emotions until I woke up and since you're the ones who know them better..." Gaara quickly explained.

"Hmm...Could you make it tighter around Onoki-jii?" Kurotsuchi asked with a devious smirk. Gaara moved his hand a bit and the sand surrounding the Tsuchikage became tighter, until a still cracking sound was heard. Gaara stopped pressuring the sand and they all stared into the widened eyes of the Third Tsuchikage. "Hey, Onoki-jii, you're really getting old, aren't you? You can't even break free of a small amount sand. So much for..."

"What are you saying? I'm Sandaime Tsuchikage, Onoki, the great fence-sitter of..." As he stretched in an attempt to break free from the sand prison, his back cracked once again, causing his eyes to turn blank in pain. "Ow, ow, ow..."

"Easy." Kurotsuchi smiled and made a victory sign with her fingers, while Gaara released Onoki from the Sand Coffin.

"I don't know how to wake Mizukage-sama up..." Chojuro admitted. Everyone looked to Ao who was sweating a lot. The Hunter-nin sighed in defeat and nervously walked towards his village leader.

"_Even though this is for the good of my village, I'll regret it for eternity..." _Ao silently thought as he stared to the trapped Mizukage. Everyone stared in antecipation to the two for awhile, before Ao finally let it out. "Mizukage-sama! It's about damn time you find a husband! Every villager has been talking about it lately! At your age..."

"Ao..." She suddenly whispered and Ao stopped talking, relieved that she hadn't done a thing to him. Then, she pushed the sand away with sheer strength and her eyes glew red. Ao's uncovered eye turned blank as she pounced him to the sand below them and started to choke him. "I'LL KILL YOU, AO! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!"

Everyone sweatdropped in fear...

(...)

"I think everyone will agree if we continue things with Kakashi Hatake as Hokage." Yamato suggested and, while not everyone nodded, none openly opposed.

"So, what should we do?" Onoki asked.

"We'll have to go ahead and form the alliance." The still visibly tired Gaara answered. "Everyone who is able to pull a stunt like the one Madara pulled should be taken seriously."

"Are you still opposed, Raikage?" Mei turned her attention to the silent Raikage.

"My brother is apparetly safe, but we can't allow the Akatsuki to cause trouble!" Ē seemed much more polite and remained calm. Despite that, his voice was still loud. "Let's form this alliance and finish them off immediately!"

"I beg your pardon, Raikage-sama." Shi kneeled as he interrupted and Ē allowed him to speak. "We should start by searching Killer Bee immediately. If Madara Uchiha is still after the Eight and Nine-Tails, then they're probably still searching for Bee."

"Right! Shi, send word to Mabui for her to form the tracking teams to search for Bee! I trust her judgment." Ē ordered and Shi nodded, before starting to write a message on a scroll.

"You better let Samui-san's team know, too. Omoi was pretty upset about it and Karui must be too." Darui remembered his partner.

"If we want to keep Madara from going through with his plans, we have to keep the Hachibi and Kyuubi out of his hands." Mei stated as she pointed to the sleeping Naruto. "As soon as we find the Hachibi, I think it would be best if the Alliance hid them somewhere."

"S-she's right. The minu..."

"No, kid. You don't know the power of the Tailed Beasts obviously." Onoki interrupted the much younger Chojuro. "He already has seven and I'm sure he didn't really meant to use them to power up his genjutsu. He must have some plans for them, like unleashing them in one of our villages. Didn't he have the power to summon the Kyuubi? He'll sure be able to summon the lesser ones, then. Don't you think the Alliance should make use of the power of the Hachibi and Kyuubi to counter them?"

"We can't. We have to protect them." Kakashi's visible eye widened. "The reason Madara would unleash the other Tailed Beasts would be exactly to draw these two out."

"I agree." Gaara immediately supported the Leaf Jounin.

"All right, we'll start by finding and protecting the Hachibi until he's back on Kumo's hands. What do you suggest we do, Raikage?" The Mizukage asked.

"I'll give you all our intel on Killer Bee, so you can form search teams and begin looking for him immediately!" Ē decided. "Send word to me as soon as you find him!"

"Uh, um...May I say something?" Chojuro nervously asked.

"Just spit it out!" Ao harshly urged his partner.

"Uh, one of the members of Akatsuki is Kisame Hoshigaki. He's a bearer of one of the seven ninja swords of Kirigakure just like me..." Chojuro looked to his village leader and she nodded in approval. "His chakra is as strong as a host's and he has the worst of the seven swords, Samehada. I was told he's called the Tailed Beast Without a Tail, because when he merges with his sword...he's as powerful as one."

"He's special. Considering Akatsuki's numbers, it's highly likely that he's the one going after Killer Bee. You mustn't underestimate him." Ao added and all nodded in understanding.

"This will be the first ninja alliance and we samurai will fight too! There's just one question...Who'll lead this alliance?" Mifune asked.

"You're the one who dismissed us all before, Mifune, so you tell us." Onoki countered.

"I would say...the Raikage."

"I thought you said the Raikage was too emotional." Like Onoki, others seemed confused by Mifune's choice.

"Now that we know the Hachibi is alive, I think the Raikage will be able to keep himself under control. I take back my hasty judgments...Please, forgive me."

"Besides, the Raikage has already taken the lead here and he was quick to come up with a plan." Kakashi added, while Mei and Gaara nodded in agreement.

"It's up to you. Join me!" Ē insisted and Onoki scoffed.

"You always think you can just order us around."

"I don't care if you trust me or not. It's about time to set personal grudges aside and join forces!" Ē shouted and this time Onoki frowned.

"I guess it's better than losing...I'll join you." Onoki finally accepted. "Since this ninja alliance is formed, we should talk to the daimyos."

"Got it!" Kurotsuchi winked as she pulled out a scroll.

"I think the villages should work in pairs, which would make the sharing of intel easier. Is anyone against it?" Ē asked and, even though Ao and Onoki had strained looks on their faces, none opposed. "Then, we should do have the distance between villages in consideration. I propose having Kumogakure and the Land of Iron, then Sunagakure and Iwagakure, and finally Konohagakure and Kirigakure."

"Kirigakure isn't that close to Konoha." Ao stated.

"Nor to any other village. Still, I would like you to interact with some village." Ē said in a quite sarcastic tone that annoyed the Hunter-nin.

"I know we hold the fame of not sharing anything with other villages, but I'm not against this, Raikage." Mei turned to her bodyguard and glared to him, causing him to flinch. "In fact, considering that the Kyuubi's jinchuriki is unconscious, I'll send Ao and Chojuro to Konoha so they can help in the transportation of Danzo Shimura. Afterwards, they'll remain there as Kirigakure's ambassadors."

"B-but, what about you, Mi-Mizukage-sama?" Chojuro worriedly asked.

"I'm not hurt. I can go back on my own to Kirigakure. The Kazekage didn't go too hard on me." Mei smirked, before winking at the young man. Gaara remained impassive but Kankuro, who thought the Mizukage was winking at him, seemed to be dazed, much to Temari's annoyance.

"I thank you greatly, Mizukage-sama." Kakashi slightly bowed to the Fifth of Kiri, who stared at him curiously.

"_That mask...I wonder why?" _Mei thought as she whirled her hair with her finger.

"I'll remain here for a day, just so that Akatsuchi gets back in condition to return to Iwa. Afterwards, we can start our talks, Kazekage." Onoki said and the younger Kage nodded, before struggling to retain a yawn.

"Still, I hope you spend this night in our land. You'll need to rest before you leave for such long journeys." Mifune offered.

**End of Flashback**

"Yamato..."

"Did you say something, senpai?" The startled Yamato asked.

"What do you think of this alliance?" Kakashi asked and the ANBU seemed to be struggling to find an answer.

"I don't know. It could work in a short term, but I think egos will come in the way if things drag themselves for too long." Yamato offered the best answer he could find. "Let's just concentrate in finding the Hachibi. We'll see what happens afterwards."

"Hmm..."

**Flashback**

"Sage Art: Super Odama Rasengan" Naruto slammed the huge sphere of chakra into Madara's body. A loud explosion occured, causing the sand pile to crumble almost completely.

(...)

A panting Madara reappeared with the upper right part of his orange mask broken.

**End of Flashback**

_"Madara Uchiha..." _Kakashi thought as he stared by the corner of his right eye to the boy he carried on his back. "_Perhaps, you're the only one who can do him...Right, Naruto?"_

_

* * *

"Hmm..." _A man with long pale grey hair stared in disappointment to the fridge. It was almost empty. He took the last can of soda and closed the door with a sigh. _"Tomorrow, I'll really have to fill it. Gosh, neechan would kill me if she saw this apartment. I guess I've become really lazy, eheh...It's a shame she isn't here to scold me. Or mom..." _As he walked towards the window, he had one of those rare moments of sadness that filled him every once in awhile since the two most important women to him left his life. Staring at the blue, three leaves fell from the tree closest to the house. The wind pushed the leaves against the window, making them whirl back and forth. The man came closer to the window. He saw the leaves falling slowly, until two stopped at the windowsill, while the other continued to fall to the floor. The man then took a sip of the soda and turned his back to the window. "When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames...Guess that fits me..."

* * *

**Next Arc:** Senju and Uchiha Arc

**Next Chapter: **Unexpected Meeting

-Nawirama13

* * *

-NawiramaWikia-

1. Jutsu:

1.1 Adamantine Power: Acala - Used by Hashirama Senju. The jutsu consisted in gathering natural energy from living beings around him and mix it with a large portion of his own chakra, compressing it in a sphere that is then slammed into his opponent. Normally, it would cause a huge explosion that would spread over a large distance.

-Nawirama13


	8. Unexpected Meeting

Chapter 008 - Unexpected Meeting

* * *

Zetsu lifted both eyelids of the unconscious young Uchiha, so he could check on his eyes. Both parts that composed the strange being frowned. It seemed as Sasuke's eyes had reached their limit. The Akatsuki's spy reached a pocket of his cloak and retrieved some white spores that he threw on top of the missing-nin from Konoha. The spores grew into clones of White Zetsu and poured chakra into his body. Suddenly, Zetsu shivered and looked back to the room's door.

Outside the Akatsuki's hideout, known as the Mountain's Graveyard, a familiar swirl pattern appeared. From there emerged the man with a broken orange mask. Madara let himself fall on his knees, gasping for air. Not only was he greatly drained of chakra from the battle at the summit, the cold air that filled the snowy mountain didn't help him in breathing. A hole appeared in the snow-covered ground and Zetsu emerged from it, his flytrap closed.

"Ooh, it's freezing out here!" White Zetsu noted, just before the flytrap opened, pushing the snow that remained on top of it away.

"**It seems you had a hard time, Madara-sama.**" Black Zetsu remarked. Madara didn't answer and simply let himself being lifted by Zetsu, who helped him walk towards the hideout. A few minutes later, Madara had already been layed down on a bed, in the room next to Sasuke's. "**You'll have to rest for awhile, this time."**

"I know Zetsu, it was a close one." Madara finally spoke, but he seemed lost in his own thoughts.

"**What happened out there after we left?**" Zetsu asked. Instead of using the white clones, the spy was using more the more traditional Chakra Transfer Jutsu to replenish his master's reserves with his own chakra.

"After you left? Putting it simply, the Kazekage broke free from my command and Kakashi put Naruto to sleep..." With the mask partially broken, Zetsu could see Madara was really upset with what happened. "I was already expecting the Raikage to do it, but that kid Gaara was a surprise to me."

"How did they do it?" This time it was Zetsu's white half to speak.

"The Raikage is the most stubborn man I have ever seen. The man is not only a powerhouse physically but also mentally. Now, the Kazekage is a mystery..."

"**You've already experienced situations where if someone can call to one's emotions, they would be able to break free of the illusion. At least, according to you, that's the only way to break free of it.**" Black Zetsu remembered.

"Yes, but no one did that. Just Naruto who shouted for him to wake up, but that's not an appeal to emotions..." Madara countered, before assuming a seated position. "No, he managed to escape my Jutsu with his own sheer will as well. It's unfortunate...with only the Tsuchikage and Mizukage under my control, things became complicated..."

"The mask..." White Zetsu changed the subject. "Who hit you?"

"Naruto did. It was a surprise at first, but when we meet again, it won't work." The revealed part of Madara's face shifted from frustration to anger.

"**Failing a mission is not something I would expect, not from you. How come you didn't bring the Nine-Tails along with you?" **

"Well...I guess my Uchiha blood started to boil. I haven't been part of a fight like the one from today in quite a long time. I guess I ended up enjoying myself a little too much."

**Flashback**

"Not quite!" Madara shouted, as he spun in midair to seat himself on Naruto's shoulders. The Akatsuki leader grabbed his opponent's right wrist and slammed the Rasengans together, causing another great explosion.

**End of Flashback**

"_I could have warped him at that moment. Instead, I was about to raise chaos and kill everyone without even dirtying my hands..." _Madara shook his head and let out a deep chuckle. "It will take a while for us to use the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path again, so we still have more than enough time to get the Nine Tails. While we wait, let's focus on getting the Eight Tails...Any words from Kisame?"

"**Not yet Madara-sama.**" Black Zetsu shook his head, at the same time his hand stopped glowing. "I'll fix your arm, now."

"Don't worry about it. You know even better than I do that that wound isn't a mortal one nor does it hurt." Madara stared to the staunched wound, before looking back to the room's door.

"Well, you're the boss, Tobi." White Zetsu remarked, making his other half mad in the process.

"**Have some respect, fool! It's Madara-sama for you!**" Black Zetsu immediately scolded his other half, even releasing some killing intent towards him.

"Hey! What the hell's wrong with you? Don't forget that we're the same! If I die, you die! You better stop with those crazy ideas..." White Zetsu countered, causing the black one to release a hissing sound. "Besides, Tobi doesn't mind. After all, Tobi is a good..."

"Quiet, you two!" Madara ordered, his killing intent more than enough to end the argument between the split personalities. "What about Sasuke?"

"**His body was pushed to to the limit. My body structure accelerated his development to the maximum. Taking a page out of your book, you know why better than I do.**" Black Zetsu said, his last sentence causing Madara to nod. "**As for his eyes...the kind is almost blind now.**"

"Good..." Madara was finally receiving good news. "Great job, Zetsu. Start the preparations for the surgery and then come back to fix my arm. Considering he can wake up at any moment, you need to get ready. Afterwards, you can have some rest, you more than deserve it." As he finished giving out orders, Madara layed back on the bed once again, to have some rest of his own. "_When Sasuke wakes up, he won't be able to deny that he needs them."_

"**As you wish, Madara-sama**." Black Zetsu answered, bowing slightly.

"Thanks, Tobi." White Zetsu simply said, causing another surge of Killing Intent.

"**I'm starting to realize how Kakuzu felt when he had to team up with Hidan...**"

* * *

"Hey Naruto, are you awake?" Naruto heard a voice as soon as his eyes opened. He was feeling sleepy and didn't have a clue about where he was.

"Uh...Kakashi-sensei...yeah, I guess so..." Naruto started to realize. He was in the back of Kakashi, who carried him from branch to branch. "Maybe only half awaken..."

"I think I have a solution for that." Naruto slowly turned his head to his right side, the side from where the voice came. Suddenly his eyes went blank as he saw Yamato's scary face, a sweatdrop appearing in the back of the jinchuriki's head.

"Well, I guess that works...Naruto, if you don't mind, I'm starting to get a little tired from carrying you." Kakashi said, showing his usual eye smile.

"Uh...of course Kakashi-sensei. Sorry about that." Naruto jumped to the next branch and turned back to look to both Kakashi and Yamato. Both seemed to be really tired. In fact, they were already back in the Land of Fire. Naruto felt a little embarassed and started to rub the back of his head.

"Don't worry about that, Naruto. We should get going to catch up with Ao and Chojuro. I know they're strong but they may need help if Danzo tries to escape them." Kakashi casually said. From the corner of his eye, he saw the annoyed Yamato shaking.

"Huh? Who are...Hey! What about Madara? Where are we?" Naruto suddenly remembered what was happening right before he lost consciousness. Kakashi extended his right hand and Yamato reluctantly dropped a pair of coins into it. They had obviously made a bet regarding how fast Naruto would understand he wasn't in the summit anymore. They proceeded on explaining how Madara left soon after Naruto was put to sleep and about the results of the summit, including the alliance made and who were Ao and Chojuro. "So, Sai's boss is done for, right?"

"Pretty much. I doubt the Jounin Council will refuse his imprisonment." Yamato answered to the question made just after he had finished explaining the battle with Danzo. The three Konohagakure shinobi were already resuming their returning trip. "His statute as village elder and adviser won't help much. Besides, with Danzo locked in a cell, Shikaku-san's task will be much easier."

"Since the meeting with the Daimyo, Shikaku-san has been searching for loopholes in our laws, so he can be find a way to bring down the Root." Kakashi clarified as he saw the confused look on Naruto's face.

"I see..." Naruto mumbled, his mind reverting back to other issue. "When I was knocked out...was it Madara's genjutsu?"

"Nope. I poisoned you before he could." Kakashi revealed, surprising his student once again. _"Even though it was a dose that was able to knock him for a week, we woke up after just two days. The Nine-Tails power never ceases to impress me..."_

"You did? Why?" Naruto insisted.

"Jiraiya-sama discussed it with me once...You see Naruto, you're very vulnerable to the eye powers of the Uchiha clan. You could realize that yourself, since you've already fought Itachi before, right?" Naruto stared down, seemingly a bit upset. "There's a motive for that. It has to do with Yin and Yang chakra, but we'll get into that some other day..."

"You should explain it to him. It's something quite...complex for him to understand at first." Yamato whispered to his senior. Kakashi stared to the blond, who already had his eyes slited.

"Guess you're right..." Kakashi let out with a sigh. "Well, Yin chakra is based on the spiritual energy that governs the imagination, used to create form out of nothingness. These techniques deal mainly with the mind and soul. On the other half, Yang is based on the physical energy that governs vitality and can be used to breathe life into..."

"Uh..." Naruto scratched the back of his head as he interrupted his sensei. "What is Ying based on again?"

"Too complex..." Yamato waved to his former ANBU superior.

"Yin chakra, Naruto, is used to create things out of nowhere. Can you think of anything like that?" Kakashi wanted Naruto to get there on his own, but he sighed in defeat. "Genjutsu, perhaps?"

"Genjutsu?" Naruto started to think about it and he had to admit it made some sense. Genjutsu created things that weren't really there and Naruto remembered that Kakashi had just said something about imagination. "So genjutsu can only be used by those who have Yin chakra?"

"Everyone has Yin chakra, Naruto. And Yang too, but I'll tell you about it later...If you realized the concept of Yin then tell me, what other moves do you think use Yin?" Kakashi insisted in his approach.

"Uh...I guess, Shikamaru's shadow jutsus...the shadows must be manipulated according to Shikamaru's imagination, right?" Kakashi nodded in appreciation, so Naruto continued. "And since you spoke of mind, I guess Ino's jutsus too."

"What about the Sharingan?" Yamato anticipated himself to Kakashi.

"Oh, so that's what this is about! Itachi's specialty was genjutsu and creating those black flames out of nowhere, right?" Naruto immediately realized and a smirk appeared on Yamato's face.

"Good, now about Yang. Yang chakra deals with the physical energy and vitality. What does vitality remember you?" Kakashi continued to pull for Naruto's brain.

"Sakura-chan's healing techniques?" Naruto tried out, causing Kakashi and Yamato to look at eachother before nodding in approval. "And I would guess Kiba and Choji's jutsus, and perhaps Bushy-Brows' gates thing too...and, well, me!"

"Pretty good, this was easier than I thought..." Yamato admitted, causing Naruto's childish grin to appear.

"Now, one thing you must understand Naruto, Yin and Yang chakras aren't stronger or weaker than other elements, nor than themselves. Instead, those two natures are perfect to be combined with eachother or with the other five." Kakashi hoped he hadn't advanced too much, so he was relieved when Naruto nodded. "Normally, besides Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth and Water, the sixth nature is usually considered to be the Yin & Yang nature, the combination of both."

"But you said everyone has both of them, so how come I can't use genjutsu?" Naruto asked.

"First, I needed you to know about those natures, so you could understand. Naruto, we think that's because of the Kyuubi." Kakashi revealed, surprising the Jinchuriki yet again. "Your father divided the fox's soul into two. With one part came the Yin, with the other the Yang. The part with the Yin...let's just say it was sealed away and lost forever. The part with the Yang was sealed inside you."

"This is the most important part, Naruto." Yamato continued. "You were born with a particulary strong Yang, and then the Kyuubi's Yang was sealed within you. What we think is that so much Yang chakra inside your body makes it difficult for you to access to your Yin."

"The problem is that without Yin chakra, you can't properly release yourself from a genjutsu. That's what makes you vulnerable against the Uchiha." Kakashi concluded that part of the explanation.

"That's why you put me out...because I was about to be caught in Madara's genjutsu." Naruto half understood.

"Yes and no...Haven't you wondered why Madara didn't simply warp you away with him?" Kakashi questioned and Naruto remembered the moment when Madara forced the two Rasengans together. "He was about to enter your subconscious and forcefully draw the Kyuubi's chakra out until you passed your 4-Tails limit. Then, you would lose yourself to the fox...Do you see the problem now, Naruto?"

"I would raise hell and...oh, shit..." Naruto's eyes widened as he finally realized. "The Kyuubi only was Yang right now..."

"As of that day, nearly 17 years ago, the Kyuubi is completely vulnerable to illusions. While that wouldn't be enough to extract it from your body, the fox would be completely in Madara's control and hell would come to that summit. I'm sure that's what Madara was about to try, since his chakra reserves wouldn't allow him to fight by himself for much longer."

"He would use you to kill everyone and then he would leave with you captured." Yamato bluntly added.

"Jiraiya-sama predicted it in a way...He was the one who asked for these poisonous shots." Kakashi showed him one full dart-shot. "While you were the one who came closest to defeat Madara, you should stay away from him Naruto. At least, you shouldn't be alone if that happens."

"Oh, c'mon! You're not going to send me on the mission to find the Eight-Tails guy, Kakashi-Hokage-sensei?" Naruto complained, causing Kakashi to frown, especially to the final strange combination of words.

"Well, as for the Hokage ma..."

"Hey guys! Look!" Yamato interrupted his future leader, as he saw someone familiar appearing far away. Both student and teacher stared forward and shock came across their faces as they recognized her.

"Sakura..."

* * *

Back in Konoha, one lazy Chunin was lying down in his new spot, looking up to the sky, watching the clouds and thinking in a very specific thing...

_"What a drag!"_

Yep, that's what he was thinking. After all, thinking in the days that were coming could be very troublesome. The group known as Konoha 11 was getting ready to hunt the traitor Sasuke Uchiha once again but things were different this time. The last time, Sasuke had just left the village. They knew what he was capable of and everyone thought they could convice him to come back.

Things were a lot different these days. Nearly four years had passed since Sasuke left the village and now only god knew what he could do. Shikamaru was only sure of one thing: Sasuke Uchiha was dangerous, very dangerous. He killed Orochimaru and his own brother Itachi Uchiha. He joined Akatsuki. Back in the day, the major concern was to try to bring Sasuke home without hurting him. Now the problem was to bring him back and make sure he wouldn't hurt anyone.

Three people would go to the end of the world to bring him back: Ino, Sakura and Naruto. But what if one of them would get hurt or if they died? If that happened to Ino, Shikamaru would forget the mission "Bring Sasuke Back" and would start "Make Sure the Bastard Dies". He wouldn't forgive him if one of his best friends got hurt because of someone like him. Same with Choji, but of course he had those other reasons... And then her father Inoichi, and the "godfathers" Choza and Shikaku... And what if that happened to Sakura? Maybe then Ino and Naruto themselves would start the new mission. And if that happened to Naruto? Well, then pretty much everybody would do it... Shikamaru had already thought about all of this and now the only thing filling his mind were those three words...

"Shi-Shikamaru-kun..." Shikamaru looked up and saw a girl with long dark blue hair and pale eyes standing by his side.

"Oh, Hinata! I didn't knew you knew this place." Shikamaru said as he sat up. Hinata seated by his side and slightly blushed before answering.

"W-well I don't come here often. Just when I think about..." Hinata blushed even more after understanding what she was about to reveal.

"About what?"

"A-aa n-nothing im-important..." She lied, starting to turn red.

"Hm... If you come here everytime you think about "that" then I guess we'll be seeing each other a lot." Shikamaru smirked.

"Y-you know?"

"C'mon Hinata everybody knows. I've noticed it since the day I entered the academy. And from what I was told, now he knows it too." Hinata didn't answer. She even lost her blush and a sad look came across her face. Shikamaru, known as being slightly mysonigist, was worried that he might had hurt her feelings in some way.

"Shikamaru..." She spoke, before he could redeem himself. "I know that you, Choji and Kiba have been friends with him since the academy. C-can I ask you something?"

"O-of course Hinata..." Shikamaru was even more worried now, because he didn't like to talk about sentimental things. He considered them to be too troublesome.

"He still likes Sakura doesn't he?" She looked at him, waiting for an answer. While she waited, Shikamaru had once again layed down to look back to the clouds. After a moment that seemed an eternity to Hinata, he answered.

"No."

"Yeah that's what I tho..." Her eyes went wide and shock was all spread over her face. "Wh-what did you say again?"

"Look Hinata, I'm not the best guy to talk about these things because I'm not used to it...but I can say for sure that he doesn't like Sakura anymore, at least not like that. I think he understood that Sakura loved Sasuke the first time we went after him. I don't know when he stopped liking her but my guess is about the time he was out with Master Jiraiya."

"Th-then why..."

"In my opinion..." Shikamaru continued his theory, not letting Hinata to interrupt him. "...he thinks of Sakura like a close friend like he does with Sasuke. I don't know how he feels about you but hey, at least now he knows what you feel. Plus, you saw his reaction when you almost died."

Hinata didn't know what to think. Truth was, they didn't speak with eachother since that day, both being busy with helping to rebuild the village. Sometimes, she saw him running across the village, carrying materials for the shinobi who were fixing the buildings or even bringing them lunch. But there had been 4 days since she last saw him, something that wasn't normal at all. To make things even worse to the poor maiden's heart, Sakura had been missing recently as well. Sunken in her own thoughts, she didn't realize at first the appearance of a black mice, right in front of her. When she did, she couldn't help but to squeak in fear. The high-pitched sound, that made Shikamaru Nara shiver from head to toe, may have been the trigger for the waiting rodent to transform into a ink message.

"Meet me at the front gate. We may have trouble." Shikamaru read the message out loud and sighed immediately afterwards. "Troublesome...I gotta go."

"Wait Shikamaru-kun, I'll go with you. You may need some help." Hinata stood with a determined look on her face. The heiress of the Hyuga Clan had just decided she had to take those crazy thoughts of her head and this was the distraction she needed. Shikamaru, knowing it was impossible to deny what women wanted when they had that look on their faces, frowned but nodded nonetheless.

* * *

"We reached the meeting place. Time to rest Chojuro." Ao announced as they passed by a sign where it was written "Shukuba Town".

"Uff...Finally!"

"Hey kid, don't be like that! I thought you were in shape!" Ao was shocked to hear that from his junior. He was always such a quiet kid, always shy and with low self-steem, but out of

nowhere he said one word that sounded to Ao like annoyance and a bit of arrogance.

"I am...Well, at least I think so, maybe...But you know, this sword is heavy."

"Uh...Yeah, you're right." Ao stared at the swordsman curiously, as they continued to walk towards the inn at the start of the Fun Fun Avenue. The Byakugan user shook his head and sighed._"Back to the good old Chojuro... Well he could really be more confident sometimes." _

"Hmm, you should take me at once to the Leaf Village. I may get loose you know." Danzo scoffed, mocking the Mist Jounins as they stopped in front of the Tsūyado Inn. The Root leader had his right eye covered by Ao's talismans and had his upper body wrapped in some larger similar ones. On each of his ankles, he had a ring of wood with some inward spikes, a creation of Yamato before they left the Land of Iron. If Danzo ever attempted to run away or do some other sudden movement, the spikes would react and carve themselves into his flesh.

"Hey Chojuro, maybe you should cut off one of his legs so he doesn't run." Ao suggested.

"Uh...Y-you think so?" Chojuro nervously questioned his superior.

"Well, he already lost both his arms, so if he appears without one of his legs as well, it may be a little bit too much." Ao pondered and then shrugged. "I'm getting some water. You haven't drink any in awhile."

"Thanks." Chojuro leaned his Hiramekarei against the front wall of the inn and seated by the side of the immobilized Danzo, while Ao entered the inn. _"It's what gives for being one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist..."_

On the other side of the street, a man was looking to his grocery list. His long grey hair, almost white, extended into his back and his eyes were bright blue. He was wearing a sleeveless white shirt and dark blue pants. Around his neck, was a forehead protector with the village insignia against is neck, so nobody could see from where he was. The shinobi was in his late 20's or maybe early 30's.

"Well, where should I go next? Yoitori Shop...it's across the road, next to that crazy Tsūyado place..." The man turned and walked towards his destination. Looking up to the infamous inn, he saw both Chojuro and Danzo next to the door. _"Isn't that...? No way! It can't be him!"_

"Boy, I'm really thirsty. Ao should've returned by now..." Chojuro mumbled as he tried to look inside the inn, from where he was hearing a lot of female giggles. In doing so, the young Mist shinobi missed to see the man coming in their direction.

"Oh oh, it's really Danzo!" The stranger waved with his free right hand, the other one holding the filled shopping bag against his body. "So tell me old rat, what's up with all that cloth?"

"You are..." A shocked Danzo mumbed, his free eye widening a bit. _"So this is where he has been hiding for so long...This is quite fortunate. Maybe I can use him..."_

"Back off!" Chojuro yelled, pulling his sword and pointing it towards the stranger. "This man is a criminal to be judged in the Hidden Leaf Village. It's my job to deliver him there, so back off!"

"Calm down, little guy. You're a pretty brave fellow, aren't you? Look...I'm from Konoha too." The man revealed as he turned his headband, revealing a Leaf insignia, before covering it back again. "So, a criminal, huh? I wonder what you did this time, eh Danzo?"

"Hmph, noisy brat. For someone who lived all of his life hiding you've got some nerve." Danzo spitefully countered.

"Something that I never agreed with...but weren't you the one who used to live underground?" The Konoha shinobi didn't lose his cool and got right back on the attack.

"Admit it! You're just a coward who runs away from every problem that appears in your life! You've had the chance to return and you didn't!" Danzo continued to speak in a tone that was way more aggressive than usual.

"No, I didn't have that chance." The man's expression became a little darker. "Even so, I'm quite well as I am."

"Are you sure? I can give you a second chance to return." Danzo said more softly, causing the man's eyebrows to raise slightly. "You know the Root is always ready to give shelter to talented orphan shinobi. You're powers would be quite an asset to my organization."

"C'mon Danzo..." The stranger let out an apparently calm, yet provoking smirk. "...my father may be dead, but I bet mom reminds you everyday that she's alive and ready to kick to your ass anytime she wants."

"Kukukuku..."

"What's so funny?" The man asked, keeping his eyes on the restrained Danzo, this time looking at him with disgust.

"Your mother is dead, fool!" Danzo shot, looking satisfied at the damage he was inflicting.

"What did you say?" The shocked younger Konoha-nin dropped the shopping bag and advanced towards the Root leader, grabbing him by the collar. "If this is a joke, it's a pretty bad one Danzo! You better tell the truth or I'll kill you right now!"

"C-calm down! W-What's going on?" Chojuro looked confused from Danzo back to the stranger.

"I don't joke...As the current Sixth Hokage, I can guarantee to you that she's dead!" Danzo continued. "She died during the invasion, about two weeks ago."

"Invasion? What invasion?" The man demanded for an answer, but Danzo remained in silence. Giving up on the old man, the Konoha-nin turned to Chojuro. "Hey, kid! Do you know what he's talking about?"

"I...Uh..." Chojuro wasn't sure if he should tell him, but seeing the furious look he was giving him, he just had to do it. "T-two weeks ago...The Akatsuki leader attacked Konoha and...the village was destroyed."

"There's a group of Konoha shinobi coming from Northeast...Why don't you go ask them?" Danzo delivered the final blow. The man struggled not to hit Danzo, before he turned in the direction given, running towards Kakashi's group.

"I sure hope you're happy, bastard!" The returning Ao said, after hearing the last part of the conversation between both Konoha shinobi.

"You can't even imagine how much." Danzo smirked.

"What do we do now? Kakashi-senpai and the others may be in trouble." Chojuro asked, before drinking some water.

"We continue. We'll have to trust them. If we go there, it will be easier for this bastard to escape." Ao said as he looked from Danzo back to the direction of Team Kakashi.

* * *

"I see that you've brought company, Shikamaru-kun." Sai caught up with Shikamaru and Hinata and the three of them were heading to the front gate. "Nice to see you, Hinata-san."

"Nice to see you as well, Sai-kun."

"So, what's up?" Shikamaru asked, worried with the word trouble in Sai's message.

"A Kumogakure shinobi, like the ones that attacked Naruto-kun." Sai bluntly answered.

"What?" The shocked Hinata stared from Sai to Shikamaru, who seemed overly annoyed.

"Since she came with you, I thought you had already told her." Sai defended himself.

"Yeah, my bad..." Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sighed, before turning his attention back to Hinata. "Some Kumo-nin appeared in the village asking for Sasuke, because apparently he captured their leader. It appears that this guy is the Eight-Tailed Ox's Jinchuriki. They asked about him to Naruto, but he refused to answer, so they beat the crap out of him."

"But why didn't you tell us?" Hinata demanded a better answer from the lazy Chunin. Shikamaru noticed how she didn't stutter when she was mad.

"Because it's too troublesome. We already had many things to worry about, we didn't need one more." Shikamaru stared at her for awhile, seeing her angry expression being replaced by a sad one. "Sorry, Hinata. It was to avoid reactions like that...We need to stay calm for this, okay? Where is he Sai?"

"There." Sai pointed to the gate. A tall, dark-skinned man with a muscular build was entering the village. He had light blonde hair and beard, almost white. A pair of sunglasses and some tattoos, added to his Kumogakure outfit, finished his appearance.

_"What a drag! Where are Kotetsu and Izumo?"_ The three stopped in front of the Jinchuriki, who didn't notice them at first, as he was writing something in a notebook. "Hey big guy! You should know that Cloud shinobi are not welcome in the Hidden Leaf Village!"

"Yo! Bakayaro! I'm just tryin' to live my life and maybe I'll find here the perfect wife! Oh Yeah! Oh Yo! Oh Yeah! Oh Yo!"

Shikamaru and Hinata sweatdropped, Sai smiled...

"_That was so...lame..." _Shikamaru thought as he slapped his own forehead in dismay. "Hey, I said no shinobi from Kumogakure are welcome here. You should know that since your buddies came to our village and attacked one of our comrades for fun."

"Yo I don't know anything about that, I swear, like I swear I'm wearing underwear! Oh Yeah! Oh Yo! Oh Yeah! Oh Yo!"

Shikamaru sweatdropped, Hinata sweatdropped and slightly blushed, Sai smiled...

"What a drag...Who could this be?"

"Oh yo! Bakayaro! Ya should know me, ya should know the name, ya should know Killer Bee! OH YEAH!"

Shikamaru and Hinata sweatdropped, but this time Sai didn't smile.

"You said Killer Bee?" Sai asked.

"That's what ya heard! Got it, fool? Get it, fool?"

"So you're the Eight-Tailed Jinchuriki!" Sai said to the shock of the other three. "Three guys came here and attacked Naruto because he didn't tell them what they wanted. They wanted information about Sasuke Uchiha because they thought he had captured you."

"Three guys? How they look like, Mike?"

"Uh, a red-haired black bitch, a dickless black baka and a blonde bitch with breasts even bigger than the Fifth Hokage's." Shikamaru and Hinata fell to the floor as soon as they heard Sai's words.

_"Yup, sure sounds like Karui, Omoi and Samui...those fools!"_ Killer Bee thought. "I'm sorry about what those fools did. Yeah, that Sasuke caught me but I got free. I've been travelling around, enjoying to be free, like a Killer Bee. Yo! Ya know, being a Jinchuriki can make your life a hell and I just wanted to be normal as well. Everybody yell!"

"I understand Killer Bee-san. People cast you aside and don't treat you like they should, right?" Hinata asked, causing Bee to stop rapping and gesturing. Hinata had seen that happen to Naruto for years and it was something that even happened to herself for not answering her father's expectations. Shikamaru thought about that for a moment. He was always complaining about how his life was too troublesome, while people like Naruto and Killer Bee had a such more difficult life.

"Yeah that's it sis...Oh well, it's time to make my comeback! Better get back on track!"

"Sorry, about the way I treated you but we've been through difficult days." Shikamaru said, a little ashamed of himself.

"Don't worry about it, fool. You guys are kinda cool but you should still be on school! Oh Yeah! Oh Yo! Peace!" Killer Bee turned his back, ending his short tenure in Konohagakure. As he was leaving, Hinata shivered as a thought came across her mind.

_"He's just like Naruto-kun. He makes it look like he's always a strong and happy guy, but has been through so much pain in his life..."_

"Hey Sai, watch for your words, you could get in trouble someday." Shikamaru said to a confused Sai who nodded nonetheless.

* * *

As Killer Bee was leaving, a shady figure, who was standing at the top of a hill outside of Konoha, watched with interest.

"Hehehehe...Good, good! I've spent too much time hunting you. I couldn't afford to wait here while you were spending vacation on the Hidden Leaf... Madara should already be upset, I need to make this quick. Besides, the more time I spend here, the less time I have to complete my other task..."

The mysterious man walked out of the shadows, revealing his shark features. He pulled out his sword and started talking to her.

"Ah, Samehada...I hope you're ready to shred some flesh...I know you are...Eheheheh!"

* * *

**Next Chapter:** A New Enemy Appears?

-Nawirama13


	9. A New Enemy Appears

Sorry, the senior trip got in the way, but I'll try to update everyday during the next week.

Also, I would like to ask you to check my poll, regarding one of the possible opponents for Sasuke in my story. For me, this poll is quite important as it will directly influence the way I'll write part of the story. The ones interested can see the poll on my profile.

* * *

Chapter 009 - A New Enemy Appears

* * *

"What're you doing here, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked to his Team 7 partner, as soon as they reached her.

"I came looking for you." Sakura told him. Her resolve shook a bit, since she wasn't expecting to find them so suddenly.

"Alone?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow to his student who nodded nonetheless. "That's a bit dangerous, isn't it?"

"I know, but it's a personal matter." Sakura answered. "_Still, I should have brought Kiba with me. I had a really hard time finding the right way to get to the Land of Iron...and I didn't even get there!"_

"Personal?" The confused Naruto asked. Sakura opened her mouth to speak but hesitated at first. When she was about to try again, Kakashi spoke.

"Well, if it is personal, I suppose you should have some privacy..." Kakashi let out a sigh and sat down on that tree's branch. "Still, I think we should let you know something beforehand."

"What is it, K-Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura nervously stared to her teacher. The look in his eye made her sure that he knew the reason why she was there.

"It's about Sasuke and his status..." Kakashi proceeded to explain what happened in the summit, everything related to Sasuke and his actions. At the end, tears filled Sakura's eyes.

"H-How could he?"

"I know. I can't believe it myself." Naruto took a tear from Sakura's eye. "But we'll get him back. I've promised you that, remember?"

"N-Naruto..." Sakura sobbed. "Ka-Kakashi-sensei...I think I want that private moment now."

"No need. I don't know how you intend to persuade Naruto to let the others hunt down Sasuke, but I'm not sure myself if they should get involved. Sasuke is on a level way above them now." Kakashi countered, much to Sakura's shock.

"Wait! What others?" Naruto asked. "Getting Sasuke back is something for me to do! What others?"

"Shikamaru, Neji, the rest of the Konoha 11...perhaps even Sai is involved in this. Right, Sakura?" Kakashi turned his attention back to Sakura who nodded in defeat.

"We have decided that we should be the ones to get Sasuke. If someone else gets him he'll be dead for sure." Sakura directed her words to Kakashi, in a pleeding tone. She avoided to stare back to Naruto, as the last sentence wasn't something the others cared about.

"You guys don't know what you're dealing with. He just fought 4 Kages and took them to their limits." Kakashi rejected the group's idea. "There's just no way a bunch of Chunin and one Jonin can get him."

"Hey, don't forget a Genin, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said with a grin that surprised Sakura.

"What?" The confused Kakashi asked.

"I'm still a Genin so add one more! And I think if you use your smooth talk you can even convince Super Bushy-Brow Sensei to come along with us." Naruto grinned even more.

"Huh? Wait! Us?" Yamato turned from Naruto to Kakashi, knowing what Naruto meant.

"I thought you wanted to do this alone, Naruto..." Kakashi remembered.

"Well, I want to be the one to do it. In fact, I'm most likely the only one who can do so, but there are other factors like Madara and the rest of Akatsuki, so...I may as well have some help to get there, you know?" Naruto explained. "Forget the ranks, Kakashi-sensei. Shikamaru defeated that immortal guy on his own. I haven't teamed up much with Neji since I came back but I bet he's ultra-strong now and...Bushy-Brow Sensei has the reputation of being as strong as you..."

"Well, that's quite true..." Yamato tapped his senpai's shoulder who let out an annoyed sigh.

"So yeah, let's do this Kakashi-sensei. I still believe we can bring him back to us. Believe it too, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto insisted.

"You know things may go wrong. You know your friends may get hurt or even worse, right?"

"I believe in my friends strength. Nothing will go wrong with them."

"You aren't giving up on this, are you?" Kakashi asked the useless question. Naruto shook his head and Kakashi sighed again. "Alright, alright... But I don't know about Guy, he's too hot-blooded..." Naruto's first look of surprise was quickly shifted to a smirk and then to an eruption of laughs. After awhile, both Kakashi and Yamato joined in but Sakura remained awfully quiet.

"Hey, Sakura..." Naruto stopped as he noticed Sakura's mood. "I don't understand...You came here just for that? You could have waited for us in the village and then tell us that along with the others."

"Yeah right..." Sakura started to get nervous. "W-well, never mind that. We were just certain that you wouldn't accept, so..."

"So, why not wait until I came back? Things could be done there...and all this about a private talk..."

"Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura interrupted her partner, so she could get her mentor's attention. "Can I still have that private moment?"

"As long as you make it quick." Sakura nodded and signed for Naruto to follow her into a not too far away clearing.

* * *

"So, what's this all about, Sakura?" Naruto asked as he felt they had been walking for too long.

"Naruto, the reason why I came here..." Sakura finally stopped, took a deep breath and turned to her friend. "We decided that it would be better if I was the one to tell you."

"Uh...yeah, I kinda had realized that already. But why is that?" The confused Naruto stared at her as she took another deep breath.

**Flashback**

"Sasuke is the one causing Naruto pain...but don't you think you are, too?" Sai asked, much to Sakura's shock.

**End of Flashback**

"Because we know that you like me and you wouldn't explode in anger or rush into things if I was the one to tell you."

"Yeah I guess so, but if Shikamaru or Neji told me that, I think I would react the same way I did with you." Naruto said.

"Uh? Why?" The confused Sakura asked.

"Well, we're all friends so I would react the same with them also."

"But Naruto, I wasn't talking about "friends like", you know?" Sakura stared down for a second, before she started walking towards her partner. She felt her knees shaking but didn't stop. "I was talking about the "other like". The way of liking a person like you have done for me for so long."

"Huh? Wha-What're you doing Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked and finally realised what Sakura meant when she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What I should've done a long time ago, Naruto." Sakura told him as she attempted to kiss him. She was so focused on trying, that Naruto was able to counter her casual monstrous strength and grab her arms, pushing her away from him while still maintaining a grip.

"What the hell is going on? You're so not like this, Sakura!" Naruto shouted and released her, causing her eyes to open wide in shock. Still, she didn't notice his hands shaking. Then, she erupted.

"What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong you! You've liked me that way for so long, so why don't you accept me? I know I've caused you too much pain, but I want to make it up to you, so why don't you accept me? I don't want to like you in that "little brother that no one asked for but that everyone gets to like" way of liking anymore. I want more, Naruto. I want to love you."

"You're hearing yourself? You love Sasuke!"

"I know!" Sakura interrupted him astonishingly fast, but didn't continue her verbal assault, as tears filled her eyes. "I know...I just don't know if I want to love him anymore...Each time I hear what he has been doing...It breaks me from the inside...I don't want this for me...Naruto, I...I couldn't wait for you to come back. I had to tell you. I want to be happy, and I want to you to be happy too. I want to learn how to love you! If you give me the chance, I'm sure we can make things work."

"Sakura, I..." Naruto shook his head sadly. "I can't..."

"Why?" Sakura asked as she slowly wiped the tears of her face.

"Because...I don't like you like that anymore. I understood you loved Sasuke before I left the village, so...I put it behind me." Sakura opened her mouth in shock by hearing what Naruto was saying. He came closer to her and helped her in wiping her tears. "You loved him and I just had a child's crush. That's what it was. I had to let it go. When I came back with Pervy Sage, I had put it behind already. Of course, I like you in a different way. I like you like I like Sasuke. Like he's that older brother that thinks he's superior to everyone, you're that scary sister that puts the boys in line and that I always wanted to have. That's what it is now."

"I..." Sakura was speechless. Even Inner Sakura was lacking words at the moment. "I guess it wouldn't be fair to you, right?"

"As things are today...No, Sakura. Especially, with the circumstances surrounding my life lately. Besides, you know I would never take advantage of your emotional state."

"Yeah, I know you wouldn't...At least, can I have a hug...little brother?" Sakura asked and Naruto answered by opening his arms. "You're a really special thing, you know that?"

"Sakura-chan, are you changing your approach on me?" Naruto asked with a smirk, causing Sakura to give him a light tap on his shoulder that felt like a hard punch.

"Don't push it baka!" Sakura angrily said and backed away from him. They both looked at eachother and started to laugh. "Thanks, Naruto...I'm sorry if I went too far."

"Bah, don't worry! We should go now Sakura-chan or sensei will kill us." As the two turned to leave, a man with long grey hair stepped in front of them, cutting the path they were about to take.

"He won't, but I will!"

* * *

She was walking around the streets with a blank look in her eyes, without knowing what she was doing. Her red hair was all messed up and her glasses were broken but still in her face. She didn't knew how she reached that town. Her life had lost all meaning and now she was all alone.

"Geek!" She tried to scream as a man pulled her into a dark alley. The orange haired man quickly put one hand in her mouth as she tried to fight against his grip.

"Settle down! I don't want you to scream. I just want to talk to you." She stopped and looked at his face, immediately recognizing him.

"Jugo!" The man nodded and released her.

"Are you calm now, Karin?" Karin didn't answer and jumped to hug the big man.

"I can't believe it! I thought I would never see you again. Thank Kami, you're here." Karin said with tears rolling down her face. Jugo was quite surprised by her reaction. He wasn't used to this. Actually, he didn't even remember if somebody had ever hugged him, so this was completely unexpected. Especially considering Karin's initial opinion, completely against having the big man as a part of Team Taka.

"Hmm, so that's why you brought me here Jugo, for a family reunion?" A white haired man said, his body hidden by the shadows of the alley.

"Suigetsu!" Karin never imagined that she would be so happy to hear Suigetsu Hozuki once again. As she reached for him, she saw his body wrapped in black markings. "What is this?"

"A seal. Danzo put it on him. It restricts his movements completely. I was hoping you could release him from it." Jugo explained and Karin nodded in understanding. She took off her broken glasses and wrapped her hair in a ponytail. After six hand seals, she placed her right palm on Suigetsu's chest and poured her chakra into the seal, breaking it after awhile.

"So what happened to you guys?" Karin asked, while Suigetsu picked up his bottle of water.

"We were fighting Danzo and his bodyguards, but we lost. In fact..." Jugo stumbled and would have fell into the floor if it wasn't for his two partners' help. With more light now hitting his face, Karin could see he was quite pale and sweating a lot. "Sorry Karin, but I'll have to ask you to use that jutsu."

"No problem." Karin said as she lifted the left sleeve of her uniform, so Jugo could bite her. She had to bit her lower lip to fight against the pain. As she started to pant, the jutsu ended and Jugo stood, checking if the wound in his stomach had been completely healed.

"Thanks, Karin. I'm sorry for all of this." Jugo insisted in apologizing.

"I told you before...no problem..." Karin assured with a small smile appearing in her face.

"Let's be quick shall we? What did you want to discuss, Jugo?" Suigetsu said with impatience.

"I want to find Sasuke."

"S-Sasuke..." Karin's expression quickly changed. Sadness came to her and she hugged herself, leaning back against the wall.

"Oh, I'll find him alright and then I'm gonna cut his head off!" Suigetsu furiously said before crushing his water bottle. Karin had never seen Suigetsu so angry. She always thought that Suigetsu was the closest friend that Sasuke had in Taka and was shocked to see his reaction. She noticed also a lot of frustration in his face and perhaps even a bit of sadness.

"You know that won't solve anything Suigetsu." Jugo calmly said, like he was already expecting such a reaction.

"The hell it won't! The bastard betrayed us! We did everything for him and how does he pay us? He runs away leaving us in the middle of the Kages and their bodyguards so they can kill us! You saw how Ao ran across the battlefield so he could get to me! I don't even know how the three of us are here right now. In fact, if it wasn't for your presence of mind..."

"Sasuke wasn't acting like himself. I think he was being controlled somehow. I want to find him to know what happened." Jugo interrupted to explain his motives. "I trust Sasuke and I want to know if you're coming with me or not. Karin?"

"I-I don't know Jugo..." Karin sobbed before falling to her knees. "I-I want to find S-Sa-Sasuke b-but I'm afraid..."

"See? Now we know how the Kyuubi brat felt when that bastard betrayed him." Suigetsu said with disgust, while looking to the sky. _"Just you wait Sasuke, you'll be the first to feel the touch of my new sword..."_

"Karin please I need to know." Jugo asked before helping her up. "I'm sure he will explain it to us."

"Al-Alright. I'm with you Jugo." Karin said before wiping her tears.

"And you Suigetsu?" Jugo turned to the swordsman.

"Forget it Jugo. I'm through with Sasuke. I'll never forgive him for what he did." Neither Karin or Jugo could find the words to convince him and that led to a long moment of silence. It was the big man who broke it.

"I'm sorry it has to be like that Suigetsu. What will you do now?"

"Hmm, I guess I'll visit an old friend. Then I'll decide what to do."

"Good luck Suigetsu." Karin hugged the swordsman. "I hope we all see eachother again."

"I hope so as well." Jugo said with a nod. Both him and Karin then turned and walked out of the alley.

_"Eh, you'll all see me sooner than you think...Especially you Sasuke..." _Suigetsu thought with a grin before leaving as well.

* * *

"Hey guys can I ask you something?"

"Sure Tenten-san. I'll answer if I can. Yosh!" Rock Lee said with his nice guy pose, but something was different. Lee didn't seem as enthusiastic as he would normally be. Neji didn't say a word but turned in their direction, in a somewhat robotic way.

"What do you think about all this Sasuke thing?" Tenten stared down, as if she didn't know what to think. "Why are you going after him?"

"Well Tenten, everybody has the same reason to go on with this. You know that Naruto, Sakura and Ino will do anything to bring him back. Their reason is Sasuke. Our reason is to protect them." Neji explained. "It's quite simple actually. We're all going to protect the ones we care about."

"Uh I see, well I'm going because of Ino. Poor girl was desperate." Tenten had a sad look when she remembered Ino's reaction when they learned about Sasuke's status as international criminal. "And you Lee?"

"I'm going to protect Sakura-chan and also to help Naruto-Kun in everything I can. What about you Neji-kun?" Neji didn't answer at first, as he closed his eyes and crossed his

arms over his chest.

"Hinata." He finally spoke after a moment.

"Hinata?" Lee and Tenten stared at him confused.

"You see, if we're going to protect those three then we'll put our lives on the line as well and Hinata already proved to us that she will give her life away to protect Naruto. I can't allow that to happen again. It's my duty to protect my cousin and that's what I will do." Neji opened his pale eyes and stared to both his partners.

"That's pretty noble of you Neji-san. Your flames of youth are burning like everyone else's should be as well. Yosh!" Lee said with another thumbs up, looking more cheerful than before.

"And also to protect you both. I could never forgive myself if you got hurt by that bastard." Lee stared at Neji for a moment, ashamed as he realized he forgot about his teammates and closest friends while Tenten just smiled.

"Same here Neji-kun." Lee said before getting up. "I guess we should resume our training. Our flames of youth should be at full strength to bring back Sasuke."

"Thank you Neji." As Lee was leaving, Tenten approached and hugged her other partner. "Neji-kun, what do you think will happen to Sasuke if we bring him back?"

"I don't know Tenten. People live in and between light and darkness and some can get out of that darkness. Naruto managed to take me out of it. Unfortunately, I think that even if Sasuke wanted to, now it's too late for him to change his destiny."

* * *

"Who are you?" Naruto asked to the man in front of them. "What do you have against us?"

"You can call me Nawirama. For the moment, I'm here only to make you a question. Then, we'll see."

"Fine. Go for it!" Naruto challenged the stranger, trying to hide the uneasiness he was feeling since his arrival. Still, the Jinchuriki wasn't too sure he had succeeded on that.

"Since you're from Konoha, you must know how to answer this. Was there some invasion? Was your village destroyed?" Nawirama asked.

"Yeah. Why do you want to know?"

"_So what the old rat said is true..." _Nawirama thought, as he stared down in anger. "I believe you asked me what I had against you, earlier. What I have against you is the same I have against every single person from the Hidden Leaf village...hatred."

"Hatred? But why? We don't even know you!" Sakura was confused but also a bit scared. The man was not scary, but the sadness and anger in his blue eyes were enough to make her chill.

"Why? Because my mother died because of Konoha and because of its people!" Nawirama angrily said. His eyes were releasing enormous amounts of Killing Intent.

"I'm sorry about your mother Nawirama but we had nothing to do with that. We need to return to the village." Realizing that a fight could become dangerous, Naruto turned to leave and Sakura prepared to follow him.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu" Nawirama shouted before launching a huge fireball from his mouth that almost hit Naruto. "You'll stay here, boy."

* * *

"What was that Kakashi-senpai?" Yamato asked.

"A Fire Jutsu in the direction where Sakura and Naruto headed. Damn we need to get there and fast." Kakashi said before they started moving. _"Neither one of them can use Fire Style so they must be under attack. I hope we're not too late."_

* * *

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu" Naruto and Sakura avoided all the fireballs. Sakura landed a punch on a tree that fell on top of Nawirama but he avoided it at the last second. He turned and noticed Naruto charging from behind. Nawirama jumped and hit Naruto with a spinning roundhouse in the neck but Naruto turned into a puff of smoke._ "A Shadow Clone?"_

"Earth Style: Rising Stone Spears" Sakura slammed both hands on the ground and over a dozen stone spears raised from it in the direction of her opponent. Nawirama jumped, quickly performed some seals and opened his mouth.

"Earth Style: Mud Wall Jutsu" A stream of mud came from Nawirama's mouth and formed a platform that blocked the tall stone spears. He landed on it and started to perform a new set of seals as he ran towards the edge from where he jumped. Nawirama spat the Fireball Jutsu three times in quick succession, instead of only one. Sakura picked the tree she had broken earlier and threw it towards the fireballs causing an explosion. The stranger landed on the ground and Naruto appeared behind him once again.

"Take this!" Naruto shouted as he threw two Fuma Shurikens towards the distracted shinobi. Nawirama turned and managed to dodge the first. He then picked the second and threw it back while spinning but the result was not what he wanted.

"Another Shadow Clone!" Nawirama said as he saw the Naruto that got hit disappear. _"Where in the hell...the shuriken!" _

Nawirama turned and delivered a right hand to Naruto's torso but he blocked it with both hands, grabbing his wrist so he couldn't get away. Another Naruto clone rolled over the original's back and delivered a kick that was blocked but made Nawirama walk back a few meters. Sakura appeared from underground and tried to land an uppercut on Nawirama but he dodged her fist and tried to hit one of his own but she blocked with her left hand. She picked and throwed him against a tree but he landed on it with ease by using chakra on his feet.

"Rasengan" Nawirama looked up and saw Naruto jumping to him with a blue chakra ball on his hand.

_"Rasengan? How?" _Nawirama once again dodged and Naruto's Rasengan hit the tree breaking it in two.

"Damn he's quick!" Naruto stood and stared in shock. _"I think he's even faster than Bushy-Brows!"_

_"These kids are better than what I expected! And how can that kid use the Rasengan? That was Minato's Jutsu..." _Nawirama's thoughts were broken when he had to dodge another one of Sakura's punches, this one going through another tree. She tried to hit him twice more but he dodged both times and grabbed her by her left wrist. Sakura gave him a pat on his left leg before she was thrown against Naruto. _"The girl's style is just like..." _

"Got him!" Sakura said as both Naruto and her stood. Nawirama tried to walk towards them but his right arm moved instead. He then tried to move the left arm but it was the right foot that took a step.

_"Ranshinsho?" _Nawirama recognized the move she used. _"By chanelling electricity to her right hand and touching the tendon on my left leg, she disregulated my nervous system. Nice, but..."_

"He...he's moving!" A shocked Sakura said as she saw Nawirama moving correctly once again.

"Ranshinsho...It has been a long time. Sorry kids but that's not the kind of move that will make me stay down."

"Hey we have nothing against you Nawirama. Just let us go, you can't beat both of us!" Naruto said, trying to end a fight that was useless. For some reason, Naruto's earlier feeling of uneasiness had only gotten worse by fighting against Nawirama. Something was telling him that he shouldn't fight him at all.

"I'm impressed with both of you. In different circumstances, you would give good sparring partners, but I'll end this now." Nawirama opened his right palm and a small sphere of yellow chakra started to form on top of it. It was the same size as one of Naruto's Rasengans but both younger shinobi could feel way more chakra in that one.

"If that hits we're done!" Sakura said, afraid of what would happen. Nawirama charged in their direction but was suddenly stopped, having a feeling of being squeezed.

"Wood Style: Smothering Binding Jutsu" Wood pillars had emerged from Yamato's hand to surround and bind the charging shinobi.

"Wood Style, heh? I'm pretty sure you're not a Senju so you must be Tenzo. And you look just like Konoha's White Fang, so you must be his son, Kakashi of the Sharingan. Am I right?"

"You are but now I'm the one making the questions." Kakashi said. "Why did you attack them?"

"I'm not just targeting them both. My target is everybody who is from Konoha."

"Hmm, so you hate our village. I wonder what yours is..." Kakashi turned the headband that was around Nawirama's neck and stared to it in shock.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"He's from...Konoha." Kakashi said while looking back to the imprisoned shinobi.

* * *

**Author's Note: **As for the new guy's name... Nawirama... Nawirama13... The reason is that the character was created way before I started posting my story on this site. When I chose the penname Nawirama13, it was because of this character which was the first ever created by me.

Sorry if there are too many grammar mistakes, I'm still a bit dizzy from the last week :D

-Nawirama13


	10. Fear of Loss, Need to Protect

Once again, I ask you to check my poll. It's important for me that you vote, as it will help me choose the way I'll write this story. Thanks to the people who voted already and to the people who reviewed the last chapter.

* * *

Chapter 010 - Fear of Loss, Need to Protect, Wish to Avenge

* * *

Something felt wrong. Something was wrong. Anko had been searching for Kabuto for weeks now. Since Sai left her to return to the village, she started to feel him close but couldn't find him. Was it still her that was hunting him? Or had they changed roles? Besides that, she could feel someone else near.

_"Hmm, so there are others interested in Kabuto..." _Anko thought as she sat down behind a tree. She opened her bag and took out a bottle of sake and some of her favourite dango. "Well, even I need a rest..."

"Too bad for you." Tera, one of the Root ANBU that had been following Anko, drew a kunai from his pocket and threw it directly at her throat. As the blade stabbed the snake user, her eyes opened wide and her head hanged down. Tera came down of his tree and approached the woman's lifeless body, to check if she was really dead. His partner, Dajimu, stepped in front of him and held his arm, stopping him from advancing.

"Wait. Something is definetely wrong here..." Dajimu told him. He carefully took the kunai from her throat, causing the body to transform into mud. "A Earth Clone..."

"A clone? When did she...?"

"Watch out!" Dajimu shouted as he pushed his partner out of the way, saving him from the snake that was coming from above. As both Root members looked up, they saw Anko seated in the tree's branch, the snake coming from the sleeve of her jacket.

"My, oh my! I was actually expecting more from the Root..." Anko revealed with a sad sigh, before her body and the snake's started to melt into more mud. The real Anko appeared behind them in such a silent way, that they only noticed when it was too late. The Tokubetsu Jounin pressed her palms into the soil, causing two large snakes to erupt from the ground, each one wrapping one ANBU.

"H-How?" Terai asked, trying to breathe.

"Oh, it wasn't too much. Hiding behind a tree, creating two clones, jumping to the tree's branch and transforming into a smaller one is something even a Genin should be able to do...At least, I suppose." Anko couldn't avoid to chuckle. "I'm so disappointed...Oh well, bye bye big guys! Hidden Shadow Snakes: Snake Implosion"

The large snakes summoned by Anko started to swell with chakra and when the chakra reached their mouths, the creatures exploded, killing Terai and Dajimu immediately. Anko let out a bored sigh and picked her bag, before resuming her hunt.

* * *

"Hm, now I'm even more curious to know who's following me." Kabuto spoke to himself, as he stared to the far away clearing he had been before. He felt that somewhat familiar chakra again, something not that different from his current chakra and Orochimaru's original one. "Unfortunately, I can't lose any more time." He fixed his glasses and put a scroll back in his bag. "It's a shame that I can't use any of these...They're not the age I need."

Kabuto turned to leave after taking one last stare to the dead bodies of the Root ANBUs that had been following him. Behind a tree, the leader of that Root squad remained hidden until the medic-nin disappeared from sight.

"Darn it...This was a complete failure." Terai angrily punched the tree. "I must report back to Danzo-sama..."

* * *

"Who are you?" Kakashi asked carefully as he uncovered his Sharingan eye. _"He seems to be my age but I've never seen him before...Wait! What an incredible amount of chakra! This amount can even rival Naruto's!"_

"That doesn't matter." Nawirama answered, after understanding that Kakashi already knew the amount of chakra he possessed. _"The Sharingan can see a person's flow of chakra. It must be the reason why he looks so shocked."_

"He told us to call him Nawirama." Sakura revealed to her sensei.

"You said Nawirama?" Yamato asked thoughtfuly.

"Do you know him Tenzo?" Kakashi quickly asked.

"Not really. Some months ago I was doing some research on the shinobi files and found one Nawirama. No last name, no family ties, nothing. The only thing besides his name was that he became a Chunin at 13 and Jounin at 14 but that was all. I tried to look for more information but there's nothing about this guy."

"Could he be a missing-nin, Yamato-taichō?" Sakura asked.

"He's not in the bingo book." Yamato shook his head. "And if he was one, that would appear in the files."

"But that's strange..." Everyone's eyes fell on Naruto. "I mean, he looks to be about your age...and if he's from Konoha and became a Chunin and Jounin at that age...well, you should've seen him taking the exams, right?"

"It could've been in a different village." Sakura suggested.

"You should know this better than me...Think! Let's suppose he's 30 like Kakashi is...Well, what was going on 17 years ago?" Naruto asked and realization came to three.

"The Third War...At that time, the Chunin Exams were held inside each village, because no outsider could enter." Sakura finished the explanation for her partner. "I didn't knew you had such a knowledge!"

"Iruka-sensei made me read an entire book about the Third War as punishment once..." Naruto revealed, seeming quite upset about those memories.

"There were some exceptions of course, like some closer allies being allowed to participate, but it doesn't matter..." Yamato pointed to Nawirama's headband. "If we follow the suggested timeline, he became a Chunin at the same Chunin Exams I did."

"If I remember correctly, in that year, the ones to become Chunin were your team along with Asuma, Kurenai, Shizune, Shikaku and..." Kakashi's eyes opened wide once again as he turned back to the restrained shinobi.

**Flashback**

"How can a 13 year old kid give me so much to do? Troublesome boy..." A scarless and younger Shikaku sighed as he threw a kunai to his opponent. The final match of the Chunin Exams had been under away for half an hour.

"Hey, Shikaku! Over here! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu" A blond boy with brown eyes shouted from above. He was using chakra on his feet to stay on the wall of the stadium. Shikaku dodged the fireball and started to climb the wall after his opponent. He used a tanto to slash some hairs from the much younger boy. The kid continued to dodge all of Shikaku's slashes, keeping his shadow away from his opponent's. That worked until the heir of the Nara clan decided to stab the kid's shadow with the sword. As Shikaku completed his jutsu, the young Genin couldn't move anymore.

"Shadow Bind Jutsu is a success." His grin disappeared when the body dissolved into smoke. "Shadow Clone? What a drag..."

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu" The kid reappeared and started a new attack.

**End of Flashback**

"You're the kid who fought Shikaku in the final..." Kakashi concluded. "_At the time, I thought he was from Amegakure, the only other village participating with us. Since he didn't have an headband..."_

"And who defeated me in the semi-finals." Yamato added. "_For some reason, he must have used an advanced transformation jutsu back then. His hair and eyes are different, even though his facial features remain pretty much the same, now that I remember..."_

"Are you finished?" Nawirama asked with an annoyed look on his face. "Then I guess I should do the same."

"My Wood Style..." Yamato mumbled as he felt the wood binding Nawirama shaking, before it was blown away by a burst of yellow energy that came from Nawirama's body. "With ease...How can he?"

"You don't know anything about me! You don't know what I was put through! All for Konoha! If there was an invasion, if the village was destroyed, if there's a Sixth Hokage...then, my mother is dead for sure! All because of Konoha!" Nawirama angrily shouted.

"_If there's a Sixth Hokage?" _Kakashi thought, with one of his eyebrows twitching.

"The way you speak...Don't you care about your village? Don't you care about the Will of Fire?" Naruto asked.

"The Will of Fire? I never had the chance to show my Will of Fire!" Nawirama closed his right hand in a shaking fist. "I was forced out of the village the moment I was born, only allowed to enter those stupid exams...I never had the chance to be on a mission. I never had the chance to be on a team. All I had was my mother and my brother and sister. Niisan died long ago, neesan left and now my mother...Don't you see? I was kept hidden all my life! I had no more people to bond with because of Konoha! Now, I don't have anyone else! I'll get my revenge on Konoha and I'll start with the four of you!"

Nawirama performed the cross seal and created three clones that surrounded the Konoha shinobi. The four Nawiramas started to run in a circular motion, spittting multiple fireballs towards the center of the circle, from where the four Konoha-nin couldn't escape. "Fire Style: Phoenix Sacred Vortex"

"Tenzo, we need water!" Kakashi hurried his partner who was already going through a set of seals.

"Tora, Mi, Ne, Mi, Tora...Water Style: Water Wall" Both of them shouted. Kakashi created a water pillar around the four of them and Yamato created another one around Kakashi's. The fireballs clashed against the reinforced Water Wall and disappeared.

"Cha!" Sakura punched the ground, releasing a huge amount of chakra into it. The ground started to break away and huge rocks were sent flying through the water barrier, hitting and destroying the clones that were too close to avoid them. When the Water Wall came down, Naruto charged towards Nawirama and hit him with a powerful left hook that sent him flying, before Naruto pinned him to the ground.

"What's wrong with you? We didn't kill your mother! We don't even know her!"

"Liar! Of course you know her! She's Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage!" Nawirama's words were filled with anger and sorrow. Naruto and the others were in shock. Nobody knew that Tsunade had a son and for some reason he thought she was dead. Nawirama took this opening to hit Naruto with a headbutt, creating a long enough opening for him to get up and distance himself with some backflips.

_"So that means he is..." _For some reason, Kakashi was the most shocked of them all.

"She never wanted to be Hokage! She was happy with her life as it was! Then, she assumes that stupid position of Hokage and dies protecting Konoha, the village that never listened to her protests and the village that forced her son away!" Nawirama closed his eyes and put both of his hands in front of his face, his palms turned towards his opponents. "You should be honored, this is something I've never shown in a battle..."

"Nawirama..." Sakura carefully started. "...your mother...she's still alive!"

"Don't play me for a fool!" Nawirama angrily opened his eyes, releasing a huge amount of killing intent instead of the technique he was preparing. "Answer me this, then! By any chance, is Danzo the Sixth Hokage?"

"Well, yes but..."

"Then, there you have it!" Nawirama quickly interrupted Sakura. "The only way there's a new Hokage is if the previous one dies, with the council and daimyo choosing a new one or with the previous one steps down and appoints a new Hokage himself. My mother would never appoint that dirty old rat as Hokage!"

"She's in pretty bad shape but she's alive!" Sakura insisted. "If you're her son, then you must know Shizune! She's taking care of Tsunade-sama!"

_"Zune-chan?" _All of Nawirama's anger suddenly disappeared as the look on his face was replaced by one of absolute shock. _"Zune-chan...How can I have revenge on Konoha if she's there? And what if..."_

"That's it, right? You know, Shizune-senpai, don't you?" Sakura continued her approach.

"Stop messing with me. Don't put Shizune in this. I..." Nawirama was distracted long enough for Naruto to hit him again. As he was about to advance towards Sakura, another left hook connected with his jaw.

"I don't know who told you those things but they're all wrong! Tsunade-baachan is still alive! Many people were saved thanks to her and that's something I know she's proud of!" Naruto shouted in the fallen Nawirama's face. "She'll recover and will proudly continue to be Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

"You don't understand what is like to be Hokage! It's a fool's job! Who do you think you are to say such things?"

"I'm someone that one day will become Hokage! The name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Naruto!" Nawirama suddenly shouted, his eyes widening as much as they could._ "I've been fighting Naruto? H-How could I?" _Nawirama stared in shock to the Genin for a long moment before his body relaxed. The shock on his face was replaced by frustration, before he looked away from the Jinchuriki. "I'm calling it quits...Naruto, you can release me now. I won't attack you if you do so."

"It's safe, Naruto. He isn't preparing any attack. You can release him." Kakashi assured, with a hand resting on his student's shoulder. Seeing Kakashi's Sharingan fixed on Nawirama, Naruto nodded and stood.

"I'm so sorry. I should have known that rat could only be lying..." Nawirama rubbed his jaw as he sat up.

"Rat?" Naruto's eyebrow twitched. "You don't mean..."

"Danzo? Yeah...I met him in Shukuba Town, along with the Kiri Swordsman that is taking him back to Konoha. It was him who told me about some invasion and Konoha's destruction and...about him being the Sixth." Nawirama rubbed the back of his head, much because of the shame he was suddenly feeling. "By the way, what happened? I stopped receiving news from the village some time ago."

"Never mind that. You believed Danzo? Danzo, of all people?" Naruto was shaking a bit, unsure of how someone who was Tsunade's son could so easily believe Danzo and even attempt to extract revenge on his own village.

"Guess he was the last person I should've believed... but anger took over me." Nawirama finally stared back to the blond Genin, in an apologetic way. "Like I told you before, my bonds have been quite limited. I lost my...one of the dearest people to me because I wasn't there to help him, and now my mother...I couldn't forgive myself if my mother died and I wasn't there to help her too. Please, forgive me..." Everybody was still trying to recover from the surprise. Sakura understood how bad he was feeling but she never thought that her master had a son and was still trying to process that. Kakashi and Yamato looked at eachother, relieved that a possible menace was stopped.

_"For some reason, he was fighting like someone who's a bit rusty. With the amount of chakra he possesses, if he fought at 100%, I don't know how things would have been." _Kakashi thought and sighed heavily. _"Now, there's his status to resolve. I'm sure this will send waves throughout the council and clan leaders. Especially considering who I suppose he is..."_

"All because of a bond, huh?" Naruto grinned and extended his hand to the Jounin, so he could help him get up, something that Nawirama gladly accepted, with a smile finally appearing on his face. "I guess I understand you then. I've done a lot of things without thinking, all because I wanted to protect my bonds."

"I believe you would." Nawirama answered with a grin that could rival Naruto's. "_Perhaps, with time, a new one can be formed..."_

"He does that a lot, even if there aren't bonds involved..." Sakura waved off.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! You're mean, you know that?" Naruto shouted with blank eyes, but stopped as soon as Sakura showed him her fist, with a sweatdrop appearing on the back of Naruto's head.

"I'll have to ask you to come back to the village with us, Nawirama. We'll need to confirm everything you told us. I'm sure you understand." Kakashi told to his fellow Konoha-nin.

"Yeah, because I could be lying and you would lose trace of a possible menace. Sure, I'll go, but..." Nawirama's mood soon became a lot darker. "I want you to confirm me something."

"Sure." Kakashi simply answered.

"Orochimaru's status...Is he really dead?" Nawirama asked and Kakashi evaluated him for a second.

"Was he the cause you were forced to leave?" Kakashi carefully asked and Nawirama shrugged before nodding. "We still have to report what one Akatsuki member told us regarding Itachi, but I guess I can tell you...he told us that Itachi sealed Orochimaru inside a Sharingan summoning called Susanoo before dying."

"I know what Susanoo is, but...Itachi dead? And Orochimaru sealed instead of dead? How much has Jiraiya-sama missed to tell me?" Nawirama noticed the surprised look on Kakashi's face when he said Jiraiya's name and looked carefully towards the younger nins direction. Yamato was trying to pull Sakura away from Naruto, in an attempt to stop her from hurting him even more. "Jiraiya was my contact with the village. He used to tell me everything of importance regarding it, like what has been done against Akatsuki and such. For him to stop sending me messages...he's dead, isn't he?"

"Yes...the former Akatsuki leader killed him." Kakashi revealed.

"Former? Not Pain anymore?" The surprised Nawirama asked.

"You really were well informed." Kakashi remarked. "Since Jiraiya's death, many things have happened. I'll tell you the rest, if you come with us. For now, we need to catch up with Ao and Chojuro so we can deliver Danzo back to the village."

"They still must be waiting for you in Shukuba Town. I really delayed the schedule, didn't I?" Nawirama rubbed the back of his head as he tried to decided what to do. "Well, the least I can do is help you in delivering Danzo. I guess I'll go with you. Besides, I'm being kinda forced, right?"

"Officially...But won't it bring problems to you?" Kakashi asked more naturally, as he could easily believe Nawirama now.

"I could have returned the moment Orochimaru was considered dead. I just didn't feel like it. Now, I'm forced to come back."

"I told you just now, only officially. I won't force you to do anything." Kakashi reinforced his confidence in Nawirama.

"Not you...but I have to see how my mother's doing. I more than owe her that. And I haven't seen Shizune-neechan in a long time so...let's do it!" Nawirama put both hands behind his head and let out a large grin, which scarily reminded Kakashi of Naruto.

"Alright kids, time to go." Kakashi called his students, before he and Nawirama jumped to the next tree. Sakura, who was holding Naruto's right ear, which was by now bigger than the rest of his head, pulled it down so she could slam her partner's face into the branch they were standing in.

"Hai!" Sakura answered before following the first two. Yamato slapped his forehead in dismay, before following as well.

"Wasn't she proposing a relationship minutes ago?" Naruto mumbled as he tried to stand.

"There's still a lot I have to ask you, Nawirama." Kakashi told to Tsunade's son.

"From you, it's more than expected..." Nawirama smirked and looked behind, seeing Naruto finally reaching them. "...but let us wait until we're back in Konoha. There's too much to be told during a trip and in front of them."

* * *

**-Wikia**

1. Jutsu:

1.1 - Fire Style: Phoenix Sacred Vortex - The user and a number of clones will surround an opponent and run in a circular motion. Then, Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu is used by the user and his clones, giving the visual effect of a fire vortex forming around the opponent. The technique is virtually impossible to dodge due to the multiple angles covered, but it can be blocked by a strong enough technique that covers all angles.

2. Characters:

2.1 - Nawirama - Now that Tsunade was revealed as his mother, I'll reveal the origin of his name. Nawi comes from Nawaki, Tsunade's younger deceased brother. Rama comes from her antecessors (Hashirama, Tobirama...) Another thing that will help in future appearances of the character, is a better description of the position of his hands when he was about to activate his final technique. Just think of DBZ's Tien and his Solar Flare technique. The position of the hands is the same but with the palms turned to the opponent.

* * *

**Next Chapter: Decisions**

-nawirama13


	11. Decisions

Something has been called to my attention regarding the OC I'm using in this story. I was asked if the character would be overly strong and if this would become a OC centred fanfic. I already answered to the person in question but some of you may be thinking the same. By the way, thanks kail420 .

I'll start by the last question. No, this ain't an OC centred story. The story is mainly centred in Naruto and whoever is teaming up with him in each arc. Of course, there will be some chapters that will be focused in other characters. About the OC, this is his debut arc so he'll appear many times. For the other arcs, not so much.

As for his strength...He's strong. Definitely. Overly strong? I'll try not to make him. One thing's for sure, I'll make it like Kishimoto does: Nawirama will have only one all-out fight. (Like Jiraiya who only went all out against Pain or Tsunade who only went all out against Orochimaru). There's a motive for which I need him to be strong, and you'll realize that in the long term (I can't go on spoiling the story, right?) I know that having an overly strong OC is kinda bad, so Nawirama will be strong but within limits.

On a final note, and because I'm speaking too much today, I decided that I'll only close the poll after chapter 15. Results will come in chapter 16. At the moment, there are three guys in the lead, so vote and make one of them lead by himself!

* * *

Chapter 011 - Decisions

* * *

"Aw, what a drag..." Shikaku Nara was lying down in a large rock, watching the clouds and hearing the sound of Choza Akimichi eating his snacks. Shikaku had a feeling that something bad would happen to him today, something besides the troublesome mission of finding Anko and Kabuto that was ordered by himself as Konoha's Jounin Commander.

"C'mon, at least we're having a break." Choza stopped eating for a moment. Lying down at their side was Inoichi Yamanaka, his body with no consciousness as he was using his clan's hidden jutsu. "Poor Inoichi is the one having all the work."

"You know this is too troublesome, Choza. We have to watch for Inoichi's body while he uses that Mind Transfer Jutsu of his."

"Well, you're the one who made this mission official. You knew beforehand what would emply."

"Bah, I did it because it was needed. It doesn't mean I like it." Shikaku frowned. "If it wasn't for this troublesome mission, I could be sleeping and you could be eating in some barbecue restaurant."

"That's true." Choza sighed as he looked at his empty bag of chips before he took another one out. "But you could stop whining for a moment and relax."

"I'm whining because we're not a scouting team like Team Hiashi. This isn't our type of mission. It's too much of an hassle."

"Hiashi still managed to avoid this mission because of his clan's enormous amounts of paperwork." Choza remembered.

"Being the head of a big clan like the Hyugas...bah, thinking about it is already too troublesome. But I still think that Shibi, Tsume and Hana have better chances than us."

"Well, two Inuzukas and one Aburame...you're right as always. But hey, would you trade Inoichi for Tsume?"

"No way! She can be one of the greatest scouts in Konoha but she's even scarier than my wife! No thanks."

"Way to put my skills down, you two." Inoichi sat up, looking disappointed. "But you're right. Tsume is way better in these things. I couldn't find a thing, sorry."

"Don't worry Inoichi. Want some snacks?" Choza offered to his partner.

"Sometimes I wonder if Sakumo-sensei was proud of us." Shikaku said, before closing his eyes. "I really can't find an answer to that."

"Hey Shika, don't be like that! We're not that bad..." Inoichi said with little conviction.

"Are you trying to say that we are better than Hiashi, Shibi and Tsume? Or that we are better than Hizashi, Kushina and Kai were? Or than Fugaku's team? Or maybe better than the Fourth's?"

"Well, now that you mention them..." Inoichi trailed off, before all three of them sighed at the same time.

"It's a shame that all members of Team Minato, Team Fugaku and Team Kushina are already dead. We were all great friends." Choza said before closing his second bag of chips.

"Well, at least they were way nicer than Tsume..." Inoichi said, before all of them started laughing. The moment was cut short by the arrival of Genma, Raido and Aoba.

"Shikaku-san, Inoichi-san, Choza-san, Team Genma is here to take your place in this mission. All Jounins are to report back to the village, by the orders of Homura-sama and Koharu-sama." Genma told to the InoShikaCho trio.

"Why is that Genma?" Inoichi asked, causing a grin to appear in the face of each member of Team Genma.

"It looks like "Danzo-sama" already screwed up and is in Ibiki's hands right now. All Jounins are to join with the Council to decide if he keeps the Hokage title, even though it isn't really needed." Genma's grin grew even wider as all other five shinobi chuckled at the irony in his words. "So basically the meeting is to decide who will become the Sixth Hokage and to vote immediately so we can avoid situations like the one from "Danzo-sama"."

"What about you guys?" Choza asked, as the members of Team Genma were all supposed to be in that same meeting.

"We're the only team of Tokubetsu that came to shift with this mission's Jounins. The others are all Chunin." Raido informed.

"So we met with the advisers before the mission and voted already." Aoba added.

"Oh! So in which one did you vote?" Inoichi asked, but Genma shook his head.

"A vote is supposed to be secret." Genma chuckled. "I think the time you spent as ANBU's Chief Interrogator years ago left its mark. Even unintentionally, you're always trying to pick on information from others."

"I guess so...You'll see what will happen to Ibiki when he leaves the ANBU Interrogation Squad." Inoichi stood and couldn't avoid to yawn and stretch.

"Ah, by the way Inoichi-san..." Aoba vaguely started. "You are to help Ibiki-san in the interrogation of Danzo-sama."

"Again?" The surprised Inoichi reacted. "How is that I always get involved in these things..."

"Hey now Inoichi, don't get lazy or we might have to get Tsume to pick your place in the team." Shikaku said while he tapped Inoichi's shoulder. Choza started to laugh as he opened a third bag of chips. "You boys are too much of an hassle. Good luck in your mission."

"Thanks a lot. See ya later." Genma waved as the InoShikaCho trio left the place. "Eheh..."

"He'll be pissed when he learns about it." Raido pointed out.

"I know, but my little prank won't cause much harm. Kakashi will end up being the one." Genma smirked at his next thought. _"Even though I would pay to see the look on his face if happened to be the one..."_

* * *

"Boy oh boy, you're picking Kakashi-sensei's habits aren't you?" Kiba asked with a grin, as he and Akamaru noticed the arrival of Sakura and Naruto, who were the last two to reach the training field where the Konoha 11 were having a meeting.

"Well, things weren't easy. We just delivered Danzo to Ibiki." Naruto said to the shock of everybody present, except Neji who had already been summoned for the meeting with the council later.

"What? Danzo?" Sai couldn't help but to feel a bit of relief that somehow his master had been arrested. "_Does that mean...Can I be free now?"_

"Explain that, will ya?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto told everything that happened in the Land of Iron, about how Danzo was trying to control the meeting and then about Sasuke's battle against the Kages.

Hinata and Tenten were shocked at first but then they had to try to calm down a crying Ino who let herself fall on her knees. Neji, Lee, Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru's faces were full of anger and frustration. Curiously, Shikamaru was the one having most difficulty to calm down, after he heard that Sasuke had attacked the Sand Siblings. Sai didn't show any motions as usual but he noticed the worry and sadness in the faces of Naruto and Sakura. Shino was the one breaking the silence.

"So it seems Sasuke is burying himself more and more everytime."

"Yeah, that's why we have to be the ones to get him, or he'll be..." Naruto said.

"I don't know Naruto!" Choji interrupted, his fists clenched. "Everytime we talk about this, it seems harder and harder to keep calm about Sasuke! Just look at Ino! She's devastated! Lee had to take Shikamaru over there to try to calm him down and you know Shikamaru is not a guy to be furious about anything... Even I am having a hard time to stay calm!"

"Not only that Naruto, after our training session I saw Lee punching a tree and went to see what was happening to him. I heard him say something like: "Sorry Sasuke, but if things continue like this I'll have to extinguish your flames of youth." You know Lee would never say such a thing." Tenten told them.

"But guys, he's our friend!" Naruto seemed desperate.

"Don't count me on that Naruto!" Kiba almost barked. "Shino and I are only doing this to protect Hinata. She's the one who wants to go."

"Hi-Hinata?" Naruto turned to her and she started to blush.

"S-sorry Naruto-kun. It's not that I'm doing this for Sa-Sasuke-kun either. We weren't really friends. I'm doing this because of you." Hinata stopped and blushed even more after understanding what she just said. "A-And, and for Sa-Sakura-san and I-Ino-san. You are my friends so that's why..."

"Thanks Hinata..." Naruto stared at her for awhile, causing her to be even more nervous. He remembered the moment she interfered in his fight with Pain and he knew she would do anything for him. _"I really have to talk with her later." _Naruto thought and rubbed the back of his head. "Neji? Tenten?"

"My mission is to protect Hinata with my life and that's what I'll do. I'll also give my life for my partners. Tenten is going for Ino and Lee is going for the both of you. I guess you don't need to ask Ino, she doesn't need that." Neji advised Naruto.

"Yeah I know. Choji?"

"Look Naruto..." Choji lowered is voice so that Ino couldn't hear him. "Shikamaru and I are doing this for both of you and for Ino, but I tell you something right now Naruto. If something happens to Ino, you can be damn sure both of us will kill that traitor, even if it costs our lives, you hear me?" Naruto nodded and Choji left to bring back Shikamaru and Lee.

"And you Sai?"

"You both changed my life. I'm starting to learn how to live it and it's all thanks to you. I will do anything for both of you and that includes bringing Sasuke-kun back."

"Thanks Sai." Naruto turned and watched Shikamaru, Choji and Lee returning. "Are you okay Shikamaru? I need you fresh now." Shikamaru nodded, so Naruto continued. "Okay I talked with Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei and they both agreed to help us. Kakashi-sensei will also try to convince Super Bushy Brow-sensei to come along. He asked us to wait until the election of the Sixth Hokage so we can leave the village in an official mission. Shikamaru, talk with Kakashi-sensei so you can make some plans okay?"

"Alright, Naruto. When's the election?"

"It will start in a few minutes." Neji informed. "Talk with him tomorrow. They still need some rest after all that's happened."

"Fine. I guess that's all?" Shikamaru asked. Sakura noticed that he wanted to leave the training field quickly. He still seemed quite upset about Sasuke attacking the Sand Siblings. It was well known of all that there was some kind of feelings between him and Temari, even though neither of them had admitted that, maybe not even to eachother. Naruto decided that everybody needed to relax and there was no point to continue the meeting.

"Yeah, go get some rest. See you guys tomorrow then." Everybody started to say their goodbyes and leaving. Sakura was on her way out when someone grabbed her arm.

"C-Can I go wi-with y-you?" Ino sobbed. Sakura nodded and hugged her longtime friend and then both left. Hinata asked Neji if he was coming with her but he had already promised to Tenten to take her home and then he had to go to the Hokage's election meeting. After they left, she turned and noticed that the only other person on the field was none other than Naruto.

"G-goodbye Naruto-kun." She was already leaving when she felt his hand grabbing her arm. She turned and stared into his blue eyes. Her face turned beet red and she tried to hid it. _"Naruto-kun grabbed me. Oh Kami, don't do this to me..." _

"Wait, Hinata-chan! Can I talk with you for a moment?"

_"C-chan? Hinata-chan? He...he..." _Hinata couldn't think of anything else because then she fainted...

* * *

"Dynamic Entry" Guy made his boisterous entrance in the Council Room, ending up with one of his characteristic poses, which caused many of the present shinobi to sweatdrop. "The Noble Green Beast of the Hidden Leaf Village...Might Guy!"

"Well, one more is here. Only Kakashi is late...as always." Koharu, one of the advisers said. _"And to think he's going to be the one..."_

"Geez, what a drag! That Might Guy is too noisy! I was almost sleeping..." The frustrated Shikaku shifted his position, trying to get asleep.

"Hey now...Don't get lazy or we may need Tsume to pick your spot in the team." Inoichi laughed, as he got revenge for Shikaku's earlier statement.

"Did you say something Yamanaka?" An angry Tsume Inuzuka asked as she appeared behind him, making him jump as he heard her.

_"Yep, she's scary alright..." _Shikaku tried not to laugh for his well-being.

_"I shouldn't be here in this stupid meeting. I should be by Tsunade-sama's side." _Shizune was worried about leaving Tsunade alone in her present condition. The pet pig Tonton looked at her, sad as well. "Don't worry Tonton, someday she will once again be our good old Tsunade-sama."

"Well, sorry I'm late. There was this old woman..." Kakashi started his excuses as he entered the room, with Yamato rubbing the back of his head as he followed him.

"Who? Tsume?" Shikaku whispered to his partners who laughed before all three of them shivered, as they felt an enormous amount of killing intent behind them.

"It's about time Kakashi!" Koharu scolded the Copy Ninja. "I guess we're all here. We can finally start."

"Actually, there's one more Jounin to participate in this meeting." Kakashi interrupted and then Nawirama entered the room. All shinobi started to whisper and both advisers looked at eachother.

_"I-I can't believe it..." _Shizune had her eyes wide open as she recognized the man who entered with Kakashi.

_"Ohoh, he's back? This is getting interesting..." _Shikaku thought with a grin as he recognized the shinobi as well.

"Who are you young man?" Homura asked.

"You know that already, adviser. I'm a Jounin from the Hidden Leaf Village. My name is Nawirama Senju."

"_I knew it was him... Senju eh? That explains a lot." _Shikaku thought to himself.

"I thought that Tsunade-sama was the last living Senju and I've never seen you in Konoha before. Care to explain, youthful comrade?" Guy asked, confused as everyone else.

"Of course. I'm the son of Tsunade Senju, the Fifth Hokage. I know you have questions but I'll let you all know what is needed to know. " Everyone in the room was staring at him in silence. "When I was born, my mother noticed that I had received a very special gift, a bloodline limit..."

"The Wood Style?"

"No Guy-senpai. I don't want to be rude but I still don't trust people to tell them about my bloodline limit." Nawirama stared at the advisers and both nodded. "As I was saying, my mother noticed this and knew exactly what it was. It was a very rare bloodline limit from my father's family that only very few people had. Then, at the time I was born, there were reports of a certain shinobi who was doing illegal activities in order to learn forbidden jutsu..."

"Orochimaru..."

"Exactly, Yamato-senpai. She knew that he would be very interested in my abilities, so she decided to go to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi-sama. They along with the advisers decided that the best thing to do was for us to leave the village." Nawirama stopped for awhile. "So I was registered with my mother's last name, to avoid any links for my father's clan. Mother took me and Shizune, who was under her custody, to live in a small town in the Fire Country." Shizune stared down to hide the tears that were coming to her eyes.

"I was allowed to participate in the Chuunin Exams, where I participated alone when I was 13. I decided to participate only my first name so that nobody noticed something strange. Then I had a special Jounin Exam when I was 14, outside of the schedule, once again to avoid questions. I couldn't participate in missions like everybody else, but at least I wasn't...well, that far away from the others."

"I'm remembering him, now! He faced Shikaku at the finals of the Chunin Exams." Nawirama nodded at Choza's statement. "Don't you remember him now, Guy?"

"I...don't..." Everybody sighed as they heard Might Guy's answer. He was always so focused on both his student's and his own training and in his rivalry with Kakashi that it seemed that he forgot about the rest of the world.

"I dedicated my life to learn new things. Not only jutsu, I also learned about everything that happened in the village and involving the village through some of its shinobi like Jiraiya-sama. At least, until the invasion of the Akatsuki leader Pain."

"So now that Orochimaru is dead, you were free to come back..." Shibi concluded.

"Exactly, senpai." Nawirama said with a smile, not sure he remembered the shady shinobi who was in fact leader of the Aburame Clan.

"It's good to have you back Nawirama. I'm glad you have inherited the politeness of your father instead of the arrogance of your mother..." Nawirama glared to Koharu but the adviser continued nonetheless. "Well, since I think this matter has been cleared, it's time for us to proceed with this meeting."

"All of you know by now that Danzo has been handed to Ibiki after his actions in the Land of Iron. Therefore the title of Sixth Hokage won't be handed to him, so now we'll have to choose a suitable replacement. The advisers agree that Kakashi Hatake should be the Sixth Hokage." Homura revealed, causing everyone to look back to Kakashi who pointed to his face.

"Huh? Me?"

"Of course. Especially after the way the other villages Kages treated the Alliance's matters with you." Homura remembered.

"Tsunade-hime has always made clear that you should be the one, in case someone happened that his. Strangely, we actually agree with her on this matter." Koharu continued. "Kakashi Hatake do you accept the position of Hokage?"

"Wait a second!" Inoichi interrupted. "While I agree that Kakashi is someone that deserves the position of Sixth Hokage, it is of my knowledge that three Tokubetsu Jounins have already voted. While we don't know in who they voted, shouldn't we join all the possible candidates and then vote? Unless, their vote went to Kakashi..."

"No, they didn't vote on him." The annoyed Koharu shook her head. "Genma Shiranui did a flawless exposition about a certain Jounin that he considered..."able" to carry out the Hokage's duties."

"I think we should go Inoichi-san's way then." Kakashi suggested. "Who was this person that Genma-san suggested?"

"It doesn't matter..." Koharu again shook her head. "If eventually someone votes on him, to that person's votes will be added three more. Let's just keep going. Any suggestions?"

"Let me start then." Kakashi raised his hand. "My suggestion is that I'm not to be involved in this."

"What?" The advisers were shocked and everybody started to whisper in the room. "Silence! Do you understand what you're saying Kakashi?"

"Yes, I do. I'm refusing to be Hokage." Kakashi made it even clearer. "Being Hokage doesn't suit me. I'm not the kind of shinobi to be standing everyday behind a desk. My place is on the battlefield. That's where I can help Konoha the most."

"The Hokage must be a trustworthy and strong leader. You do realize that, don't you Kakashi?" Kakashi nodded at Homura's question. "Don't forget that the daimyo must accept our choice. Besides you, there are very few that he would accept as Hokage."

"Good. It would be weird if there were many shinobi able to be Hokage, right?" Kakashi countered. "This is my decision. I don't want to be Hokage."

"You're being selfish, Kakashi!" Koharu suddenly shouted. "This is not how a Konoha shinobi should act!"

"If you think that, then I should tell you another one of my motives for not wanting to be Hokage. Putting it simply, after a confrontation with someone from Akatsuki, I would say that my opinions have been tainted."

"Tainted?" The confused Homura questioned.

"If I become Hokage, someone will likely be put in a cell the moment after, without a chance to defend himself." Kakashi darkly said, causing some shivers. Then, he eyesmiled. "Besides there are shinobi that surpass me..."

"Like who?" Koharu demanded an answer.

"Like Naruto."

"You're not suggesting the kid to become Hokage are you?" Hiashi interrupted. "I mean, you know I don't have anything against him, but can you say he's ready?"

"No, Naruto is not mentally ready for that yet but he's not the only one. For what I've seen, in his best physical shape, Nawirama should be as strong or even stronger than me." Everybody stared to the returning shinobi, who stared down and rubbed the back of his head. "Guy is at my level too and I'm not entirely sure how a fight between us two would turn out, Hiashi-san."

"If he was still alive, Asuma would be a strong candidate for sure." Shikaku remarked.

"True, but I don't believe he had surpassed his mentor."

"Watch it, Shibi..." Shikaku whispered in a threatning tone.

"Even though he was in his peak when he died, I'm not sure he was stronger than you, Shikaku." Shibi continued in his serene tone. "I believe that makes you a candidate."

"May I speak?" Nawirama raised his hand and the discussion between the leaders of the Nara and Aburame Clans died before it started. "I believe the work ethics also matter in this decision. Not only should it be someone strong, but it has to be someone capable of doing the big and difficult decisions. Putting that in consideration, I believe any of the clan leaders should be a candidate for this."

"That could create some problems." A man with greyish-brown hair noted, his eyes falling especifically on Hiashi. "If we do it that way, the decision will be a battle between the clans and, of course, the bigger clan will have a great advantage."

"I believe not." Neji, who was by Hiashi's side, spoke instead of his clan leader. "This is a very important matter that is far greater than the rivalries between the clans. I talk for myself, I won't vote in Hiashi-sama if there's someone who is more adequate to the position of Hokage."

"The same goes for the rest of our clansmen." Another Hyuga, with spiky light-coloured hair, added. "The Hyuga aren't as blind to change as you may think."

"See, Unkai?" Hiashi asked neutrally. "There's no need to be afraid of the Hyuga Clan. There's still a chance for your clan to be reborn."

"Eh, you're wrong. The Kurama Clan can't be reborn by having one of our clansmen as Hokage. I wasn't even supposed to be here, since I'm only a Chunin. I'm just here to represent the remnants of the Kurama Clan." Unkai sadly answered. "I was just pointing something out. I have nothing against the Hyugas."

"So, anyone else?" Homura questioned and there was silence for some seconds.

"It depends." Someone said. "Since work ethics matter, I suppose former clan leaders should be involved too."

"That's..." Neji turned as he recognized the elder's voice. Leaning against a wall, with his arms crossed over his chest, was Neji's grandfather.

"Don't you think you're a bit past your prime to be Hokage, Hiyoshi?" Homura interrogated the former Hyuga Clan leader.

"I'm younger than you two and as old as the Third when he died." Hiyoshi countered.

"Let him be..." Koharu whispered. "It's highly unlikely for him to be chosen. The other shinobi didn't take well the position he took during the incident with Kumogakure years ago."

"Fine." Homura answered. "Alright. Former clan leaders are in too. I suppose every leader of organizations like the ANBU and such should be in as well."

"Anything else?" Koharu once again asked and this time, Shizune lifted her hand. "What now?"

"Well, at the moment, Tsunade-sama is in no condition to return to activity but that could change. I just wanted to suggest...we should just choose an Interim Hokage." The advisers looked at eachother confused but gave sign to go on. "The Sixth Hokage will be on this position until the Fifth recovers and returns to her job. If for some reason, the Fifth doesn't recover then the advisors should decide if the Sixth becomes a full-time Hokage or if there is a need of a Seventh, depending on the Sixth's performance."

"That's a good idea. This way it doesn't have to be the strongest of us. We only need a shinobi or kunoichi with great leadership, but with good enough skills of course." Kakashi supported his fellow Jounin.

"Why don't we put Shizune in the mix too?" Nawirama questioned, much to the medic-nin's shock. "Shizune has been the Fifth's assistant since the start and knows how to do the work of a Kage. She may lack the fighting skills for a Kage but, for an interim one, they're more than fine."

"Well, it couldn't hurt...fine." The way Koharu was acting and speaking, Homura noticed she just wanted to get that over with. "Now, for anyone that was nominated but doesn't want to become Hokage...present a good explanation or you'll put up for the voting."

"Hokage, huh?" Hiashi wondered and Neji noticed a very rare smile in his face. _"Our childhood dream, Minato..."_

_"What a drag! I knew something was wrong when I woke up! Even getting out of the damn bed is troublesome now..." _Shikaku thought. He had a bad feeling all day and was worried that this could be what it meant.

_"Me? Hokage? What are you thinking, Nawirama-niichan?" _Shizune thought, afraid of what was coming up next.

* * *

"By now, they are choosing a replacement for you, Danzo. Short reign, huh?" Ibiki mocked the Root leader, with a rare and dangereous grin appearing in his face. Danzo was seated in a chair, with a cloth written with strange formulas wrapping him to it, covering him entirely from the neck below.

"Hmph, they say that when someone sees your smile, it's a bad sign." Danzo calmly said. "I don't know why, but I'm not afraid."

"Ao-san, Chojuro-san, I advise you to leave this room." Ibiki said, his dangerous grin becoming even wider. "Things are going to be a lot nastier from now on."

"Are you sure we aren't needed Ibiki-san?" Ao asked.

"No, not at all. Please close the door behind you." The Mist shinobi left the room and looked at eachother.

"W-what is I-Ibiki-san going to do to him?" Chojuro asked nervously.

"Back in the Bloody Mist days, the other villages used to send shinobi there to retrieve information on us. ANBU, Hunter-nin division, Intel Corps, Seven Swordsmen, whatever... they wanted to know what started the bloody days of the village and if they were started by the Sandaime, Yondaime or someone else..." Ao explained before looking back to his partner. "As shinobi from Kirigakure we had to protect every information about the village, so...there was a suicide order if we had the unfortunate luck of crossing paths with one particular shinobi."

"You wouldn't mean..."

"Even I don't want to imagine what Ibiki Morino is going to do to that old fool..."

* * *

**-WIKIA**

1. Characters:

1.1 Hiyoshi Hyuga - father of Hiashi and Hizashi, grandfather of Hinata, Hanabi and Neji. For more, see Narutopedia's Hyuga Elder.

1.2 Hiraku Hyuga - the other Hyuga in this chapter's meeting, he's the same that was by Sakura's side during Naruto's battle against Pain.

1.3 Inoichi Yamanaka - Inoichi is the former leader of the ANBU Interrogation Unit. He stepped down, so that Ibiki could assume the position. From time to time, he still helps in interrogations, like it was seen in the Invasion of Pain Arc.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** A Long Night

-nawirama13


	12. A Long Night

Thanks for the reviews! Everybody seems to be anxious to know who will be the Sixth Hokage :D Unfortunately, you'll have to wait one more chapter...Don't worry though, I'll update the next one today as well.

This chapter may bring some problems to your minds, so take special attention to the Author Notes at the end of the chapter (specially the 4th one).

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 012 - A Long Night

* * *

"Wait, Genma! We should stop." A tired Raido said. The sun had already set and they had been running across the Land of Fire for hours without stopping.

"No! We have to find Kabuto. We can't let him escape." Genma insisted.

"But Genma, if you don't have any energy when you face him, you're as good as dead!" Aoba tried once again to convince his partner.

"Alright, alright...We'll stop here." Genma finally decided to stop. Aoba and Raido let themselves fall on his knees, gasping for air, but Genma didn't seem tired at all. "You set things up. I'll put some tag barriers and traps around this area. We never know, right?"

"Okay Genma, but make sure you come back!" Raido demanded.

"Sure." Genma said with a grin. _"You don't understand, I have to find Kabuto. I have to kill him..._

* * *

_"Damn! Where are you, Anko?" _ So he could try to find Anko Mitarashi, Iruka had left his partners behind while they were resting. _"I need to find her. She can't go one on one with Kabuto. It's too risky." _Iruka suddenly stopped, as he heard something in the bushes at his right. He quickly picked a shuriken and threw it to where the sound came from. Before it reached the bushes, a senbon clashed with the shuriken, causing Iruka's eyes to widen. "Genma?"

"Iruka?" Genma asked as he came out of the bushes.

"You shouldn't be here alone. Where's Raido and Aoba?"

"They're resting, scarface." Genma answered with a grin. "What about Kotetsu and Izumo? Weren't they with you on this mission?"

"Resting." Iruka simply answered, a upset look on his face. "Thanks for reminding me of what you did with those stupid senbons of yours."

"You're welcome, kōhai."

"Not for long."

"Oh, you tried once again to become Jounin, didn't you? It's what? The third time already?"

"I don't care about that...senpai." Iruka intentionally delayed the last word. Both glared at each other for a moment and then asked at the same time. "What are you doing here?"

"To get Kabuto." Genma answered.

"To find Anko." Iruka said.

"What? Still that childhood crush? C'mon Iruka, get over it."

"What's the problem? You don't hear me mocking your childhood crush on Kabuto."

"What the hell did you say?" Genma shouted but Iruka didn't answer. He was looking at the sky, thinking about something.

"Why do you want to get Kabuto so badly?"

"You remember what Orochimaru did to my family, don't you Iruka?"

**Flashback**

"Damn, I hope Tsume-sensei isn't as angry as she was yesterday." Genma sighed as he and Aoba walked towards the training field for their diary training session. "Any news on Raido?"

"I don't have a clue but if I had to take a guess..." Aoba sighed as well and shook his head. "I think Raido will be literally scarred for life."

"Gosh...I wonder who played that prank on her." Genma wondered as they passed the wooden poles.

"Whoever did it, just ended screwing Raido's face." Aoba continued to walk before he noticed that Genma had stopped. Following his friend's line of vision, Aoba landed his own eyes on two boys of their age. "You wouldn't think?"

"Hey Iruka!" Genma called the boy with a ponytail. "You were the one, weren't you?"

"Huh? What?" The surprised Iruka asked.

"Busted..." Mizuki whispered, so that only Iruka could hear.

"You know what. Yesterday, training field, Tsume-sensei...are you remembering now?" Genma continued to pressure the fellow Genin.

"N-no way! I don't have anything to do with what was on the bags!" Iruka clumsly answered, causing Aoba and Genma to look at eachother.

"Did you say anything about the bags?" Aoba asked to his partner.

"Nope and not about the dog food that strangely appeared in her bag instead of her lunch." Genma added.

"H-hey guys, calm down! It was just a..." Iruka started to back off as both members of Team Tsume advanced towards him.

"Genma!"

"Tsume-sensei?" All four boys turned back to where the voice came from. The dark-furred ninken Kuromaru stood by Tsume's side as always but he wasn't the only one. Two men that were about the same age as Tsume were there also. The boys failed to recognize them at first but after noticing the Uchiha crest in their clothes, it became clearer. They were two members of the Konoha Military Police Force, Yashiro Uchiha and Fugaku Uchiha. Still, none of the boys failed to realize something bad had happened because all three adults and even the dog seemed to be very concerned and displeased about something. The look on Tsume's face even gave them the idea that she was disgusted about whatever happened.

"There will be no training session today. Aoba, you can go home but I have to speak with Genma about something." Tsume said with a weaker voice than usual but with still enough strength for Aoba to realize she wasn't asking him to leave but ordering him instead.

"You two better go home too." Yashiro ordered.

"No, Iruka can stay." Tsume said, causing the surprised Iruka to stare at her and Mizuki to discretly frown.

"But this matter doesn't concern him. This is confi..." Yashiro immediately disagreed but stopped arguing as soon as he felt Fugaku's hand on his shoulder.

"In part, it does. The girl disappeared too, remember?" Fugaku told to his fellow Uchiha clan member who eventually nodded in agreement. "You two will learn about it eventually but Genma and Iruka must know before everyone else."

"Hai." Aoba nodded and turned to Genma in a sign of support. "I'll go visit Raido. Pass by later." Genma nodded and then Aoba turned to leave the fields. Mizuki did the same but without saying a word to the presents.

"So...what happened?" Iruka hesitantly asked.

"Orochimaru has left the village. From now on, he's considered an S-rank missing-nin." Yashiro announced.

"Anko's tutor?" The confused Genma asked while Iruka's desperate look showed that he had understood immediately.

"After searching for years, the Third finally discovered the lab where Orochimaru had been working on illegal experiments. He killed all the ANBU that were there and managed to escape Sandaime-sama and also Jiraiya-sama." Fugaku continued the explanation.

"Wait! When you said that a girl disappeared, you meant..."

"Yes, Genma. He took Anko with..." Tsume's words were cut short as she swiftly turned and leapt towards Iruka, pushing him down and pinning him to the ground.

"Let me go! I'll kill him! I swear to..." Iruka couldn't complete his oath as Tsume slapped him across the face. Even though it wasn't her intention, her sharp nails ended up making a couple of cuts on Iruka's cheek.

"If I let you go, you'll get killed! That's what's going to happen, you fool!"

"Hey, I understand why you wanted to tell Iruka about this but what does that have to do with me?" Genma asked, wanting to end things quickly and go home as he wasn't feeling confortable with the situation.

"I'll answer to that but first...back away Tsume." Fugaku ordered and the leader of Team Tsume released Iruka who immediately stood. Fugaku's eyes turned red with three black tomoes in each one and Iruka stopped moving, standing there like a statue.

"Isn't that a bit too much, Fugaku?" Yashiro asked.

"The only way to stop him besides Genjutsu would hurt him and the kid didn't do anything wrong to deserve that. He's just sad and angry because of his friend's disappearence. It's understandable." Fugaku said before turning is attention back to Genma. "Now, if you react like your friend, I'll be forced to put you in the same Genjutsu so please cooperate."

"I...Why would I react like Iruka? What happened?" Genma impatiently asked.

"Like I said before, Orochimaru was doing illegal experiments in that lab of his. They were illegal not only because he was doing them to develop Kinjutsu but also...because he was doing it on humans. There was only one boy alive in that place and the Third rushed him to the hospital. As for the rest...they were all dead." Fugaku revealed.

"Wow, wait!" Genma shouted as he had a very bad guess about what they wanted to tell him. "Who was the boy? Was it Asai? He hasn't been around for some time, I thought he was on a mission or something!"

"No, Genma. It wasn't your brother. The boy that was rescued was Tenzo." Tsume tried her best to maintain the same tone of voice but she failed at it. "Asai wasn't on a mission. He was there..."

"He was what?" Genma screamed with his eyes wide open.

"I'm sorry, Genma. I really am." Frozen in his place, Iruka saw Genma falling on his knees with tears rolling down his face and both Tsume and Kuromaru trying to confort him. Even though he couldn't move, Iruka felt that his own face was slowly getting wet.

**End of Flashback**

"How could I forget?"

"Well, thank Kami that monster is dead now. However, this Kabuto learned from him and not like Anko. He learned things much more twisted than her and now he has Orochimaru's remains in his own body. He's another sick bastard and we have to do everything to get him. I don't want more people to go through what I did..." Genma looked up to the sky like Iruka did before.

"You're right, we'll get him Genma." Another moment of silence came. Iruka and Genma were rivals since they were young boys but even so they understood eachother much better than anyone else.

"I'm sorry, Iruka."

"For what?" Iruka asked confused.

"I know you were only trying to defend her. I was just another stupid bastard who judged her just because she was Orochimaru's student. I never thought about what she went through. I just ended screwing up your face." Genma looked at the scar across the bridge of Iruka's nose.

**Flashback**

"Eheheh! Hizashi-sensei will never know what hit him!" Iruka proudly said to himself as he took the usual way back home. As he passed by the lake, he saw five people standing on the bridge that led to the center of the water body. Taking some steps further, Iruka started to hear exalted voices.

"Why do you keep saying that? It wasn't my fault! It wasn't!" A familiar girl's voice ringed in Iruka's ears.

"Oh yeah? So why don't you help our superiors? Why don't you give them information on that bastard?" Another familiar voice made itself heard, this time a boy.

"I...I can't remember! I just can't!" The first girl insisted, her voice shrieking.

"That's enough, Genma! Just stop it!" Another girl shouted.

"How convenient!" The annoyed Genma pulled a senbon from his pocket and launched towards the girl with a violet spiky ponytail, who was already on her knees.

"Watch out, Anko!" Iruka jumped towards her and pushed her out of the way, being hit by the senbon right across the nose. "Ouch!"

"How dare you Genma? She did nothing to you!" A girl with long purple violet hair furiously shouted to the boy with a senbon on his mouth, who had just tried to hurt her best friend.

"What do you know about it, Yugao? You only care about following Hayate and fail to realize the threat she is! She's Orochimaru's apprentice, the guy who tortured and killed my brother!" Genma shouted not only to Yugao but especially to the crying Anko who stood and ran away.

"Anko! Wait!" Yugao ran after her and Iruka tried to hit a punch on Genma but missed, falling from the bridge and into the water below.

"Stay out of this, Iruka!" Genma turned and left followed by Raido and Aoba.

**End of Flashback**

"Don't worry about that old friend." Iruka grinned and so did Genma.

"Why didn't you guys end up together?"

"Who?"

"You know who..." Genma said with an annoyed look on his face. "You and Anko. What happened?"

"Well...everything started when Hizashi-sensei died. Anko decided we should give our best to honor our sensei's memory but Yugao had other plans. She was in love with Hayate and decided to go to the ANBU to be closer to him. When Yugao told us that she was leaving, Anko went berzerk. I tried my best but they turned backs to eachother. Yugao left and Anko was near a breakdown. I don't know for sure, but I think she never forgived me for being neutral instead of standing only by her side."

"Haven't you spoke with eachother since then?" Genma asked.

"Rarely. Only when a mission involved both of us...and one time about Naruto, during the Chunin Exams. That was pretty much it." Iruka rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I think the last time was during the return of Moryo."

"Geez...Nice relationship you two have, huh?"

"Don't tell me about it, but what can I do? I'll always care about her, one way or the other. That's why I have to save her." Iruka sighed. "It's a shame Hizashi-sensei died. He always gave me good advices."

"Yeah your sensei was amazing. I had Tsume...Poor Raido's face was never the same again..." Both laughed as they remembered the nasty scar in the Tokujo's face. "We should get going. Anko needs our help."

"Thank you, Genma." Iruka gratefully said and both continued their search, knowing that the night was going to be a long one.

* * *

Hinata woke up. As she slowly opened her eyes, she realized she wasn't in the training field anymore. She was in a bed, one that wasn't very confortable. The sheets that were covering her had a familiar smell, a smell she knew so well...

_"Naruto's smell?"_ She quickly sat up but felt dizzy, ending up layed down on the bed again. She looked at the room. It wasn't her's. _"Could it be? Am I in Naruto's room?"_ She turned her head to the left, where the window was. It was already dark outside. _"For how long did I sleep?"_ Hinata asked to herself. A knock on the door startled her. The heiress of the Hyuga Clan almost jumped as she saw Naruto coming in.

"N-N-Na-Naruto-k-kun w-where am I?" Hinata blushed and started to pull the the sheets to her as she saw him coming closer.

"C-calm down Hinata-chan. You fainted (again) and I was with you in the training field waiting for you to woke up but it started to get dark, so I brought you to my place. You slept for almost 3 hours. I hope you don't mind." Naruto informed her, while he rubbed the back of his head.

"N-no, I don't. I just...wasn't expecting." Everytime she was with Naruto an ankward moment was the most likely scenario but since her confession she was even more nervous just by being close to him.

"Are you hungry? I bought some ramen while you were sleeping. Or I can bring something else if you want to." Naruto asked. He didn't knew why but he was a bit nervous as well.

"I-I... ramen is fine, thank you." Naruto left and she was once again alone in his bedroom. It was small and simple but Hinata didn't mind about that. At least he didn't live in a mansion always full of old fashioned people, many of which Hinata didn't knew, even though they were family. Naruto came back with two bowls. He delivered one to Hinata and they both ate in silence. When Hinata finished hers, Naruto, who had finished long before, broke the silence.

"Huh, Hinata...do, do you want to do something? I mean, uh, if you want to leave I understand. Your father must be worried." Naruto couldn't understand what was wrong with him. "_Why am I stuttering? That's something that happens with her, not with me..."_

_"He looks nervous. What's happening to him? It's like he's thinking of everything he's saying. It's not like him." _Hinata almost forgot about his question. "O-Oh don't worry about that. My father must be at the meeting." Hinata stopped and thought for awhile. "W-Well, we, we could go to a p-place I know..." Hinata blushed. She didn't know why she would take him there but she couldn't think of anything else. "N-Naruto-kun are you feeling well?"

"Y-yeah, I was just..." Naruto was staring at her for quite some time. He never realized how pretty she was before. He wanted to look at her for some more time but nothing else would be more ankward. "Okay, let's go then."

* * *

Naruto still couldn't believe how amazing the view was. They were on the top of a building from where they could see a big part of the village. Naruto was standing at the edge of the building recognizing every spot of the village. Hinata was sitting on a bench that the owner put there for the people who usually came. He didn't mind as long as they didn't cause trouble. She was looking at the stars when Naruto spoke.

"This is great Hinata! When did you find this place?"

"Some months ago. I usually come here when I thi...uh, when I'm feeling alone or when I need to clear up my mind." Hinata almost said what she didn't want to once again. She was trying not to stutter but then she would forget about what she was saying. "Shikamaru-kun also comes here sometimes to watch the clouds."

"Yeah, that's just like Shikamaru." Naruto stopped to think for a moment. "I hope you don't come here often."

"W-Why?"

"Because that would mean you feel alone a lot and that's not good. Believe me, I know." Hinata remembered how Naruto was always put aside and was always alone without any friends when he was a child. And then she remembered herself, locked in her room, after the rigorous training sessions her father put her through when she was a lot younger. Being the heiress of the clan, Hinata wasn't allowed to go out without having her bodyguard Ko following her every step. Being so, children usually avoided her, either because of fear of the Hyuga Clan's actions towards them or because they didn't want to play with someone that would always bring an adult with her. That was the reason why she spent much of childhood alone, with no friends as well.

"Don't worry. It's not that important." Hinata said with a sad smile.

"What?" Naruto was shocked to hear that. "Of course it is! I care about you! I don't want you to be sad!"

_"He cares about me? He does?" _Hinata thought, her eyes wide open.

"Hi-Hinata there's something that I want to talk with you..." Naruto turned his head to his side, thinking on how he should say it.

_"Something to talk with me? Is he...? Don't faint Hinata, don't faint, don't faint..."_

"Well, first, thanks for saving me last time. I still hadn't said that...Just don't do it again. I was so afraid that you could be..." Naruto couldn't say it and choked up a bit.

"B-but I had to..." Hinata couldn't continue as she saw his pleeding and concerned eyes. "I, I g-guess I can b-be more careful next time."

_"Why am I so nervous about this?" _Naruto thought as he rubbed his head. "W-well that's not all Hinata, I also wanted to talk about what you said when you saved me." He looked at her to see how she would react. She was staring at him with her eyes wide open but at least she didn't faint. "I've been thinking about it a lot and I don't want to hurt you..."

_"Oh no, he's going to say he doesn't like me..." _Her eyes were getting wet.

"I think I like you but I don't know much about these things and that's why I want to know you better so I can be sure about my feelings for you."

"O-of course Naruto...I, I understand that you would ne..." Hinata stopped with a gazed look in her face. "He...wants...know...better...like...me...he..."

And then Hinata fainted once again...

* * *

"Hey, old man! Where do you think you're going?" Shikaku stopped where he was and looked to his right side. His son was playing shogi alone. Most likely he had been there all night waiting for him.

_"Oh great..."_

* * *

"Sorry, Ibiki. The meeting was long." Inoichi excused himself. "So could you find anything?"

"No, Inoichi-sensei. The bastard has managed to hold on. I don't know if I can make him talk. That's why I asked for your assistance. Your Mind Reading Jutsu may do the trick."

"Have you tried the Time Reversal Jutsu?" Inoichi questioned his former student, who nodded. "What about the interrogation-specific genjutsus?"

"Everything. I even used one of my summonings." Ibiki revealed, mildly surprising his mentor.

"Summoning Jutsu: Torture Chamber?" Inoichi asked and wasn't surprised when Ibiki nodded. "Hm, I see. It's not shocking though. Danzo is a war veteran, a former ANBU himself and the leader of the Root. Things couldn't be easy with a guy like him." Inoichi thoughtfully said. "At least you had some fun, I suppose?"

"Yeah, that makes me feel a little better." Ibiki gave that scary grin. "But I think we should only continue tomorrow. You also look tired." Ibiki turned off the lights and locked the doors of that wing of the ANBU Operation Building. "Any news on Anko?"

"No. I just hope Kabuto didn't get her."

"Don't worry, she's tough. We'll find her and that bastard Kabuto as well."

"I hope so, Ibiki. Well, time to go home. Tomorrow is going to be another long day..." Inoichi said with a yawn.

"Wait Inoichi-sensei, I almost forgot to ask...Who's the new Hokage?"

"Well..." Inoichi rubbed the back of his head for awhile. "Things turned out in a quite interesting way."

* * *

"Crazy day, huh?" Nawirama asked as he arrived at the meeting place. Kakashi was already seated on the top of the roof of his place, a little book in his hand.

"Sure was." Kakashi was reading Icha Icha Treat, the book Jiraiya left in Kakashi's room before leaving to the Hidden Rain Village, with a note asking to take care of Naruto.

"Icha Icha? That's something I wouldn't expect from you." Nawirama noted, before taking a seat by Kakashi's side.

"It's an exclusive one that Jiraiya-sama left me before he died. You know, your brother liked his books as well." Kakashi said, before closing the book. Nawirama didn't answer. He knew what was coming.

"I guess I have some explanations to do..."

"It's only fair, since you have connections to many people in this village."

"Very well, Kakashi-senpai." Nawirama smiled to him, before his expression changed to a more serious one. "Where should I start?"

"What about that Bloodline Limit?" Kakashi tried and Nawirama pondered about it for a moment, before nodding.

"My Bloodline Limit is a dojutsu."

"Dojutsu?" The surprised Kakashi asked, as this revelation made his earlier theories crumble. "Your eyes ain't white, so...you possess the Sharingan?"

"No. A mutation between both Byakugan and Sharingan. It's called Zennogan." Nawirama noticed Kakashi's frown and sighed. "It's understandable that you don't know about it. Only two people ever had these eyes before me. They were twins and it was a long time ago."

"Considering the rivalries between Uchiha and Hyuga, I'm surprised something like that could happen." Kakashi said.

"That's because the union didn't come from Uchiha and Hyuga, or so they would say..." Nawirama trailed off for a second. "There were those in the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans that weren't able to awaken their dojutsus. Long ago, during the time of the founding of Konoha, those who failed to do so were banished of their clans."

"And eventually they were brought together into a new clan, huh?" Kakashi guessed right, as Nawirama nodded.

"At that time, shinobi didn't have the knowledge about genetics we have today. They guessed that since one couldn't awaken his dojutsu, his descendants wouldn't be able as well. They were wrong. Some time after, the first Sharingan and Byakugan users started to appear. Of course, the Uchihas and Hyugas did a great pressure and those who were born with the abilities ended up back in the original clans."

"I suppose that even inside the same clan, former Uchihas would only get into relations with former Uchihas, right?" Kakashi guessed right again. "Then, someday, someone broke the wall..."

"And the twins were born. The father an Uchiha and the mother a Hyuga. Two children born with the "eye that sees all", as they called it." Nawirama turned his palms outwards and his blue eyes changed their shape. The irides first turned pure blue, resembling a blue Byakugan. Then, a black mark appeared on each of them, resembling an inverted "Y", with a small circle of the same blue right in the middle of it. "Even so, these eyes aren't weaker or more powerful than the other two pairs."

"Why is that?" Kakashi questioned, his free eye staring into Nawirama's two.

"I can see the chakra pathway, I can see in a range field of 359 degrees, I have high perception, I can cast genjutsu through them...All the other two can do, so it was supposed to be more powerful, right? Thing is, these eyes have limitations." Nawirama explained. "With time, my eyes start to weaken. Instead of seeing the chakra pathway, I start to get limited to the chakra flow. The degrees the range field covers start to decrease. The level of the genjutsus I'm able to cast decreases as well. As for the perception, even as high as it is, is still inferior to a Byakugan's or a full-matured Sharingan, even at the start of a battle. At least, is what stories tell. I never had anyone to compare myself with."

"But they had. The twins fought many Uchihas and Hyugas back in the day. They became highly competitive, as did their clan. The leader at the time started to force his clansmen into relations, so they could give birth to more Zennogan users. It failed. No more people were born with those eyes, until my birth that is...But back to the story. Shodai-sama eventually grew tired of this and threatned the twins to stop their doings. Eventually, they turned their backs on the village and travelled through other countries, fighting everyone they thought was strong enough to give them a challenge. The last one occured in the Land of Water."

"What happened?" Kakashi asked.

"There are many different stories but this is the most believable one...They attempted to fight an entire clan. Thing was, they were resistent. Even though the twins killed half of them, their eyes started to deteriorate and they couldn't escape. It is said that it was the Kaguya Clan that killed them. Soon afterwards, the attempts to give birth to a new Zennogan user stopped."

"So let me get this straight...Your eyes have the same abilities that the Byakugan and Sharingan, right?"

"Don't forget to an inferior lever, yes. To tell you the truth, I can't even copy an opponent's moves." Nawirama remembered, while he deactivated his dojutsu. "But there's a thing that comes with it and doesn't have anything to do with those two dojutsus...I can use all elements."

"All?"

"Yes...I mean, I struggled a bit to get the hang of wind chakra, but it happened when I was still very young."

"That's just like one of the Rinnegan's characteristics..." Kakashi let out in a whisper.

"I know..." Nawirama frowned deeply. "I don't know if you know, but there's the remote chance that the Byakugan and Sharingan were once the same."

"Yeah, I heard those rumors before. They're more plausible than the ones that say that the Byakugan comes from the Sharingan or vice-versa." Kakashi added. "That eye would be the Rinnegan."

"Right. So, while my eye isn't the Rinnegan, it may be the closest thing to it." Nawirama finished with his head hanged down. "Do you realize now?"

"That's why you had to hide from Orochimaru."

"Yes...My mother didn't knew if Orochimaru had knowledge of the Zennogan but if we stayed in the village, he would end up learning. He would try to get his hands on me for sure. For all it's story and for the problems it caused me, I don't like to use these eyes." A moment of silence came for the first time since the start of the conversation, until it was interrupted by Kakashi.

"If you're Tsunade's son, I assume your father's name was Dan Namikaze." Nawirama nodded. "So you're really Minato's brother..."

"Actually, I'm only his half brother." Nawirama admitted, before he lifted his head. "We only had the same mother."

"What?"

"My father only raised him and gave him his name." Nawirama once again stared down. "His father was Jiraiya-sama..."

Kakashi couldn't believe what he just heard. Only a small group knew that Tsunade was Minato's mother. She left the village when Minato was only seven years old and he was left under the custody of Jiraiya. But only both of them, Tsunade and perhaps Shizune knew about this last revelation.

"Di-did Jiraiya-sama knew about this?"

"Yes. Jiraiya-sama asked my mother to become his wife but she wasn't ready for that. They were only 16 by that time. Jiraiya-sama left the village with a broken heart and without knowing that my mother was pregnant. Eventually, she met my father and he accepted to raise the child." Nawirama paused for a moment. "Some years later, Jiraiya returned to help the village in the World War. He learned of what happened and couldn't forgive himself but then my father died. He was hurt himself but still supported my mother. After that, both of them and Orochimaru would become known as the Sannin. Jiraiya-sama stayed with Nagato and the others, while my mother came back to the village with Orochimaru. Only then, she realized she was once again pregnant."

Kakashi managed to follow everything Nawirama told him but was still shocked. He never expected his sensei to be son of the Toad Sage. Now that he was thinking, he could see some similarities between them.

"So why did Tsunade-sama take you and Shizune and left Minato behind?"

"She had to leave because of me but she couldn't take Minato. She didn't want to hurt Jiraiya-sama again so she asked Hiruzen-sama to take care of Minato until Jiraiya returned and to tell him what was happening. Jiraiya-sama understood what my mother did and forgave her. After he became Minato's sensei, he eventually revealed the truth to Minato. Niisan reacted well actually, but decided it was for the best if they didn't tell this to anybody."

"What a story..." Kakashi shook his head. He was in need for some rest but still had some questions. "So not only you're his uncle but also Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama are his grandparents."

"And you don't know how bad I feel about him growing all alone." Nawirama sighed. "But if we had revealed to him that we were from his family, eventually he would know that he was the Fourth's son."

"I'm not judging you Nawirama, but I guess we should tell him now. He already knows that Minato was his father."

"Give me some more time. It's too much information for him at once. Unfortunately, Jiraiya died and my mother is...well you know. That will hit him really hard..."

"Yes, you're right. Thank you for letting me know. I really appreciate it." Kakashi decided to stand up, but he had to stretch soon after. His body was a wreck. "Do you want to stay? It's not like I would let you sleep on the streets."

"Thanks Kakashi-senpai but I already have a place to stay for now. I guess I should get going then." Nawirama got up and stretched as well. "See you tomorrow."

"And my guess is that I won't be able to sleep at all after this..." Kakashi sighed as he watched Nawirama leave, before pulling out his book again.

* * *

**1st Author's Note: **That was one long chapter!

**2nd Author's Note:** Some of you may recognize the disposition of Team Hizashi I'm using in my story. It comes from Xavon Wrentaile's awesome story called "A Growing Affection". I asked for his authorization a month ago and thank God I was allowed to use it, since the Anko and Iruka interactions are one of the things I get most fun in writing. Thanks Xavon!

**3rd Author's Note: **Don't worry about Nawirama's bloodline limit, I made sure it has its limits. It's a lot different from what I had wrote initially.

**4th Author's Note: **I know I said this many times before, but I'll have to say it again...Remember that this fic started after chapter 466. So by then, we didn't knew Dan's full name. I started writing this fic almost a year ago, so for me Dan has been a Namikaze for a long time. If I changed his name back to Kato now, my entire story would be screwed.

-**WIKIA**

1. Characters:

1.1 Asai Shiranui - Genma's older brother. Genin. Was used by Orochimaru, being injected with the First Hokage's DNA in the hopes that they could replicate the First's ability to use Wood Style techniques . Asai ended up dying before Hiruzen found the place.

2. Bloodline Limits:

2.1 - Zennogan - "Zen'nō" means all-seeing or omnipotent. The Namikaze Clan christened the Bloodline Limit Zennogan, as they thought the combination between Sharingan and Byakugan gave them the perfect eyes. It's name is quite ironic, considering that how longer a battle goes, the eyes will weaken and they see much less than initially.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** The Sixth Hokage

-nawirama13


	13. The Sixth Hokage

Two chapters in one day! O.O

The poll battle keeps on going. There are still two guys tied in first place. Either one of them would be an interesting match up for Sasuke. Keep on voting!

The Sixth Hokage will seem a bit out of character. I have so much fun messing with him that I can't avoid it. In future chapters, I'll switch between my version of the character and Kishimoto's version.

* * *

Chapter 013 - The Sixth Hokage

* * *

_"Was it just a dream? Am I still dreaming or is this another one?" _Hinata thought after hse opened her eyes. She was once again in a bed. Same bed, same sheets, same smell, same room. She sat up slowly and looked to the window. It was still night. Hinata remembered what happened in the top of that building. He said that maybe he liked her, that he didn't want to hurt her and that he wanted to know her better.

_"Oh, why had it to be just a dream...Well, maybe this is the same one, so..." _She waited for Naruto to knock on the door but that never happened. She looked at the clock. It was marking 3:03 am. _"Wait, I fainted again so perhaps this is not a dream...Oh my, I should get home before my father notices!"_

_"Ow, it's not a dream alright!" _Hinata thought as she fell on the floor, after she tripped on a pair of sneakers as she was walking out of the room. She got up and looked around. She was on the living room. Like the room it wasn't big but it was welcoming. It had a small TV on the top of a table and some scrolls on its side. There were four doors: one to the room from where she came from, other two for the bathroom and kitchen, and the last one was the entrance door. On the middle of this room, there was a couch. A blonde boy was sleeping across it. She smiled at that sight and covered him with the blanket that had fallen to the floor during the night. She stared at him for a moment and walked in the front door's direction. She turned to take one last look at him.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun..." She whispered before turning once again to the door.

"Hina-chan..." Hinata turned quickly as she heard him calling her. He was waving his arms and repeated that some more times. Even though she understood that he was still sleeping, her accelerated heartbeat didn't slow at all.

_"Hi-Hina-chan..." _Hinata couldn't remain still, so she slowly approached him once again. _"How cute, he talks while he sleeps. Could he be dreaming? Dreaming about...me?" _

"Hina..." Naruto stopped mumbling her name and remained still, until he suddenly shouted and jumped of the couch, causing Hinata to back off, putting her hands in front of her mouth. "Again? D-damn it..."

"Na-Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata?" Naruto was startled by her voice, turning swiftly towards her. "Did I woke you up?"

"No, I was awaken already..." Hinata saw him covering his face with his hands and got worried as she pondered what he said when he woke up. "D-do you have this nightmare often?"

"For a couple of weeks now, but I still can't get used to it." Naruto shook his head and looked back to her. "Why were you up?"

"Uh...I, I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but I have to get going." Hinata regretfully said as worry once again came back to haunt her. It would be no good if her father noticed she wasn't sleeping at home. Perhaps he already did. What would he do if he knew his daughter was sleeping in some boy's house...

"Huh? But you can stay, I don't mind to sleep on the couch." Naruto said. In fact, he was hoping for her to stay. He loved the time he spent with her, even though she fainted twice.

"I, I would like, but I can't." She inevitably blushed after admitting that she wanted to stay. "You know how father is. He will be very angry if he finds out that I sleeped here wi-with you..."

"I understand." The disappointed Naruto said, a sad smile appearing on his face. "I'll take you home then."

"No no, you should rest. I can go by myself. Don't worry." She was happy with him caring about her so much but she couldn't accept. He still hadn't had any rest since the trip from the Land of Iron and she knew he needed it. He walked her to the door and there he turned her to him.

"Make sure you reach there safe." The still worried Naruto said.

"I will, Naruto-kun." She blushed even more with an idea that came to her mind. "N-Naruto-kun...why d-did you call me Hina-chan?"

"Huh?...Eeeh! I, I d-did what?" Naruto nervously and clumsly asked. _"I said that out loud?"_

"I don't mind that...Naru-kun." She kissed him in the cheek and quickly left so he couldn't see her turning beet red.

Naruto stood there in front of the door with a gaze on his face. He slowly lifted his hand to touch his left cheek. He turned to go inside and layed back against the now closed door. "She...Wait! Naru-kun?"

* * *

Nawirama woke up early in the morning. He didn't get up though. He was looking to the ceilling, thinking how in one day is life completely changed. The day before he got up to buy some food and in the next morning he was back in Konoha. His personal things were still back in his place in Shukuba Town. Plus, he had to think in a way of telling his nephew about his family but he really didn't know how to do it. His thoughts were broken when a woman opened the door of his bedroom.

"Good morning, Nawirama-niichan. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did. Still calling me niichan, huh?"

"Why? What do you have against it?" Shizune laid the tray on the lap of Nawirama and stared at him with a confused look.

"Nothing. I don't mind about it but you´re older than me Shizune...nee...chan. It doesn't make sense." Nawirama took a bite from a sandwich. "Thanks for the breakfast Zune-chan, but you don't need to bother with me. I could have gone to the kitchen myself."

"You're always picking on me, Nawi-kun." Shizune said, while faking that she was sulking. "You were always more mature and responsible than me. That's why I call you niichan. And the breakfast on the bed is your comeback gift."

"Besides, we're not brothers. We're cousins." Nawirama continued, like if he wasn't hearing her. "And I'm disappointed. I was expecting something more from a gift..."

"Aii!" Shizune shouted with blank eyes. "You're always trying to piss me off!"

"Ah, finally I managed to do it!" He said with a satisfied look on his face. "Now talking seriously, thank you Shizune. I'm happy to be with you again."

"Same here Nawi-kun." Shizune smiled at him. "You've been away for a long time."

"Blame mom and her stupid debts. She was the one who didn't mind about jumping from town to town." Nawirama chuckled but then turned serious. "How is she?"

"She's stable. There's a very good chance that she'll wake up." Shizune assured to her cousin who sighed in relief. "She missed you a lot."

"Me too." Nawirama's smile turned into a smirk. "Only mom missed me?"

"Don't be like that. I've missed you too idiot." She said before getting up. "Unfortunetely, I have to work. The new Hokage is taking over today and I'll have to be there." Shizune gave him a kiss on the cheek and turned to leave.

"Wait, neechan." Nawirama called her, before getting up with the tray on his hands. "Can you go with me to a place first?"

"Of course, niichan..." From the look on his face, Shizune immediately understood where he wanted to go. "I'll take you there."

* * *

The sleepy Naruto walked around the table in the kitchen with the milk packet in his hand and was trying to decide what to eat when someone knocked on the door. Naruto's eyes went wide and he ran to the door, expecting the person he was thinking of to be on the other side. He opened the door and disappointment came across his face when he saw who it was.

"Oh, hey Sakura..." Naruto turned and Sakura followed him closing the door behind her.

"Thanks for the enthusiasm..." Sakura said, upset with his greeting. "So what's up knucklehead?"

"Oh...it's nothing." Naruto let out a long yawn. "I couldn't sleep last night and I'm a bit tired. Want to join me in breakfast?"

"Hm, I have a better idea. Let's go to Ichiraku's instead. My treat." Sakura offrered with a smile.

"Wow, thanks Sakura." Naruto thanked her with a grin. "I'm only going to pick my jacket."

"Fine, but be quick. We need to hurry."

"Huh? Why is that?" The confused Naruto questioned, while he was putting his jacket on.

"The Sixth Hokage's announcement is in less than a hour and we can't miss that."

"It would be great if they announced that baachan was returning." Naruto sighed as he closed the door behind them. "I really miss that old hag."

"Yeah, me too. She'll be back someday." Sakura assured as both left Naruto's home in direction to Ichiraku's.

* * *

"Is he still asleep?"

**"****Yes, Madara-sama. The brat was drained and he needs a lot of sleep to recover but I'm expecting him to be awakening shortly.****" **

"Very well, Zetsu. Sasuke will need some time to get used to those eyes and would be for the best if he's ready by the time Kisame returns with the Hachibi's Jinchuriki."

"And how are you feeling, Tobi?" White Zetsu asked, causing Black Zetsu to roll his eye.

"I'm fine. This body is impervious to pain and, after all, I'm an immortal..."

"True." Zetsu grinned. "And what do we do until Kisame brings the Eight Tails?"

"Well, you should be ready to do the surgery anytime now." Madara walked around the room deciding what to do. "Hm, since I have to talk to the kid before you do it, I want you to go see about Kisame first. I'm wondering why is he taking so much time."

**"****From what we know, the Hachibi's Jinchuriki has a lot of chakra himself. Do you think Kisame failed?****"**

"I hope not. It's true that Kisame has way more chakra than most shinobi but we don't know the extension of that Jinchuriki's power...Perhaps it was my mistake to send Kisame alone. Go Zetsu and be quick." Madara ordered. "If he's alive, don't forget to tell him about the new hideout."

**"****As you wish, Madara-sama.****"** A hole opened under Zetsu and he slowly disappeared underground.

"My decisions have been quite risky lately. I can't afford to lose yet another pawn. Maybe I need to find some new ones..." Madara stopped in the darkest part of the room and took off his mask. It wasn't confortable but it was needed.

"The quickest way is to perhaps find people related to the former Akatsuki members. Sasori's granduncle was a great shinobi back in the day but I doubt he's still able to be in active duty. Besides, Ebizou is too loyal to the Sand Village, I can't count on him." Madara sat down in his bed figuring out his options.

"Maybe my former partner's sister and someone of the Mist Swordsmen would accept to join. There's also Orochimaru's student Kabuto. Perhaps it's too risky, he was too loyal to that snake and also gave away information about us to Konoha... Or I could persuade Konan to come back to us instead of just killing her. Yes and maybe someone with a lot of chakra to help in the extraction of the Tailed Beasts. Without Kisame, it will be very difficult to do it."

"Aaarghh!" A loud and desperate scream came from the other room.

"Ahahahah, looks like our little Sasuke woke up..." Madara said before putting his mask back on.

* * *

_"What if her father noticed that she wasn't at home?" _Naruto thought as he walked with his hands on his pockets. Hiashi Hyuga was known for being a strict man that holds on to traditions. Having his daughter sleeping in some guy's place would not sit well within the Hyuga clan leader.

"_He's acting so strangely. He always eats so much ramen when he goes to Ichiraku's and today he was struggling to finish one cup. Hell, he's always talking but not today..." _Sakura thought as she watched Naruto walking by her side. "Hey, Naruto!"

"Huh?" Naruto's thoughts were broken by the sound of cracking knuckles.

"Spill it before I have to go Ibiki on you." Sakura threatened. Naruto looked at her and knew she wasn't kidding.

"Sakura-chan, you don't need to worry about me."

"Of course I have to, otouto-baka. You don't look like yourself. Come on Naruto, I want the truth."

"Well, it's just that I think I like this girl and I'm worried about her." Naruto revealed while he looked down to the ground.

"And that's bad? You should be happy baka." Sakura stared at him curiously.

"It's that...I don't know how I feel for sure. I don't want to hurt her..."

"_He's really serious about this!" _Sakura was even more surprised now, because Naruto was really putting thought in a situation. "Do you feel nervous when you're near her?"

"Well, yes." Naruto admited while rubbing his head.

"And do you blush, stutter or do something else that you wouldn't do because of her?"

"Uh, yeah I guess so." Naruto was even more confused now. "What's up with the interrogation?"

"Ba-ka!" Sakura threw a punch on the top of his head, but not the normal super-human strength Sakura punch, just a regular one. "What you feel...is it stronger than what you felt for me?"

"Sakura..." Naruto mumbled as he suddenly felt unconfortable.

"Just say it. I won't get mad if you refused me because you're liking someone else. I'll even do my best to help you, Naruto-baka." Sakura assured with a wink.

"Eh, I thought you would punch me or something." Naruto chuckled until she punched him.

"You were right. Now, hurry and say it, or I'll do it again." Sakura did one of Sai's fake smiles and raised her fist. The fact was that since Ino wasn't in her normal mood, Sakura was now the most prying person in Konoha and she didn't like to wait for those kind of informations.

"Yeah, I guess it is stronger." Naruto finally answered and Sakura's fake smile changed to a real one. "I've thinking about her a lot since Pain's invasion."

"Naruto are you talking seriously?" Sakura stared at him, shocked for awhile. "Is it..."

"Yeah...Hinata."

"Naruto, that's...that's just great! Hinata likes you since the academy days!" Sakura would be really happy for both of them if things came true. She liked Hinata and always wished that Naruto understood how good for him she would be.

"Re-really? Since then?" Naruto seemed quite surprised.

"Come on Naruto, I know you're slow but think about it." Naruto's eyes narrowed when she called him slow. "She was always following and supporting you. When she faced Neji in the Chunin Exams, she did so for you to notice her. The "weird" things you do now, like blushing or stutter, she already did back then. Hell, how many times did she faint just by being close to you?"

_"Only yesterday she fainted twice!" _Naruto remembered not only that, but also her match with Neji, when every time he cheered for her, she was always getting back up. And then, before his match with Neji when he called her a dark and shy girl. _"How could I've been so blind?"_

"She's a really nice girl and really likes you, Naruto. I hope you go through with this." Sakura said while giving him small pats on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto continued to think about all of this and didn't even notice he was getting too far behind Sakura. The medic-nin looked back and shrugged, before rushing towards the distracted blond.

"C'mon! You'll think about it later! We're late!" Sakura grabbed him by his left ear and started to run towards the Hokage's Residence direction.

"AAAAAAAHHH! SAKURA-CHAAAAN!"

* * *

A great amount of people was already gathered in front of the Hokage's Residence. Most were only villagers or young Genin. Almost every Chunin was searching for Anko and Kabuto and only a few Jounin were present since they already knew who was the new Hokage. Among the large group, Sakura noticed someone with spiky white hair and so she rushed in his direction, still pulling Naruto by his ear.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura called. Kakashi turned and gave his eye smile, but the dark circle under that eye was visible. He looked very tired as if he didn't sleep at all. _"I bet he was reading his new book all night, that pervert!"_

"Hi, Sakura!" Kakashi waved at her, until he noticed his other student with a huge swollen left ear. "Oh and Naruto's here too."

"Hi, Kakashi-sensei." The upset Naruto answered.

"So, it's about time, huh?" Sakura stared to the top of the residence and Kakashi nodded. "Who is it?"

"I would rather let you see with your own eyes." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "You know I hate spoilers."

"Still upset about that fight the three of us had, huh?" Sakura chuckled as she saw Kakashi sighing. "If you're here, I guess you managed to weasel your way out of the Hokage's chair."

"Right. For a moment, I really thought they would force me to become the Rokudaime." Kakashi then looked back at Naruto and saw how pensative and silent he was. The Copy Ninja then turned back to his female student and lowered his voice. "Hey Sakura, what's wrong with him. He seems too...quiet. Too, non-Naruto, you know?"

"Yeah, I know...How should I put it?" Sakura pondered the situation for a second and then winked to her sensei. "Well, Naruto just realized how he feels about certain things. Emotional things..."

"Oh!" Kakashi realized Sakura's intentions and he knew the perfect way to tease his student. In fact, Kakashi still wanted to get some revenge on him for what happened after they defeated Hiruko. "Are you saying that Naruto has came out of the closet? That's about time!"

"Huh?" Naruto stared at both and then his eyes turned blank as he realized what his sensei just said. "What the hell do you mean? That's Sai's thing not mine!" Sakura laughed as hard as she could and Kakashi gave his eye smile, since he was too tired to laugh like her.

"Well, you were needing a shake so I came up with that. Although, I think you shouldn't talk about Sai like that."

"Bah!" Naruto crossed his arms and stood there sulking while the other two members of Team Kakashi continued to make fun of him.

* * *

"Hey, I forgot to ask...why didn't Lee come with us?" Tenten asked.

"Well, he and Guy-sensei decided to go for a morning walk." Neji answered.

"So that must mean to run 200 laps around the village, am I right?"

"Yes Tenten, that's pretty much it." Neji sighed.

"Hey Hinata, you didn't say a word since you've left home. Something wrong?" Tenten worriedly asked.

"Uh, no, nothing. I was just thinking about something." Hinata answered without lifting her head.

"Well, that must mean Naruto is about to sneeze." Tenten giggled as Hinata quickly blushed.

"Come on Tenten, I've asked you before to not make fun of her."

"Sorry Neji-kun, but it's so cute to see how much she likes him." Tenten smiled to Hinata. "I'm sorry Hinata. I'm sure that someday you two will end up together."

"Well, at least by that time, he should start to bring you home after your dates. It's not safe to walk around the streets alone at such late hours, even if you're a Chunin." Neji calmly said.

"What?" Both girls asked in shock at the same time.

"Well, since Team Kurenai didn't have to train last night, I can't see any other motive for you to be out until that late."

"P-please Neji-niisan, don't tell father." Hinata pleeded to her cousin.

"Calm down Hinata, of course I won't." Neji tranquilized the heiress of the clan.

"Wait! So you really were with Naruto last night?" Tenten, who assumed the position of second most prying person in the village following Ino's depression, asked and Hinata nervously nodded. "Wow! Tell me everything!" Tenten demanded, causing Neji to roll his eyes and sigh.

"It wasn't like that!" Hinata blushed as she knew what Tenten was thinking. "I just fainted and he took me to his home because it was getting dark. When I woke up we had dinner and then we went for a walk and, and...and I fainted again..." Hinata put both her hands in front of her face in shame as Tenten looked at her wide eyed. Even Neji stared at her in a strange way. "T-then he took me to his home again and put me on his bed. When I woke up, he was sleeping on the couch and then woke up as well. He offered to bring me home but I refused because he was too tired from his trip. That's it."

"Only that? Come on I want details!" The disappointed Tenten insisted.

_"This is one of the rare occasions I miss Lee..." _Neji thought with one more sigh.

* * *

"Hey, someone's coming." Kakashi said as he noticed dust being lifted from the ground at a still considerable distance. Along with the three members of the original Team 7, were Sai, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru.

"FINALLY...the Nooooble Green Beast of the Hidden Leaf Village, MIGHT GUY has arrived!"

"Ooooh! The Handsome Devil of the Hidden Leaf Village, Rock Lee is here as well!" Both teacher and student stood there in strange poses, causing sweatdrops to all the people present. "Guy-sensei were our flames of youth synchronized this time?" Lee didn't get an answer as tears were rolling down his sensei's face and soon across Lee's as well.

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!" The two crying epitomes of manliness hugged eachother, while a sunset on a beach scenario appeared behind them.

"Hey Shino, Kiba, you should ask Kurenai to teach you a way to dispel this genjutsu." Kakashi asked and they both nodded.

"Hellooo to all! I hope your flames of youth are burning with all their might! Oh!" Guy turned to Kakashi. "Well, if it isn't my eternal and youthful rival. So what do you say, Kakashi-kun? We're 60-60. Ready to untie the draw of our eternal rivalry?"

"Not now, Guy. I'm too tired and you're too hot-blooded..."

"Hey Sakura-san, what's wrong with Naruto-kun's flames of youth?" Lee asked to the pink haired kunoichi, after seeing the disappointed look in his face.

"Oh, you know Lee..." Sakura started to explain in a very sweet, solemn and overly non-Sakura way. "...he has just realized some very important things about his feelings."

"Huh? Kakashi, my eternal rival, does this mean that your student's flames of youth have come out of the closet?" Guy asked to Kakashi.

"Yes Guy, that's pretty much it..."

"Stop that, would ya? It's not true and it's not fun!" An angry Naruto demanded.

"Ha ha! I knew it! Akamaru always said that you smelled funny! Ha ha ha!" Kiba mocked Naruto.

"Don't piss me off, Kiba! Akamaru knows that's not true!" Naruto shouted buy, to his dismay, even Akamaru seemed to be laughing in his own way.

"Naruto-kun, I read on a book that we should not put people aside only because of their sexual likings. I don't mind to continue being your friend just because of that." Sai said with a smile.

"I bet you would, Sai! Don't push it! I'm not like you damn it!" Naruto backed away, letting a confused Sai staring at him.

"I think you should all pay attention, it's about to start." Shino informed. "And Naruto you shouldn't mind about what they say. They're too immature to respect the others choices."

"Not you too Shino! I'm telling you guys! I'm straight!" Naruto shouted desperatly, causing everyone around the group to turn to them and laugh. "See what you did, Sakura?" He glared at her as she did a victory sign with her fingers.

* * *

Both advisers, followed by Shizune, came out to the top of the Hokage's Residence. Homura was the one to speak.

"Shinobi and villagers of Konoha, it's time to reveal to you the man who from today forward will be the Sixth Hokage."

_"Geez, what a drag! I look ridiculous in this outfit...and this hat is so damn hot! Come on, end this quickly..."_

**Flashback**

"Hey, old man! Where do you think you're going?" Shikaku stopped where he was and looked to his right side. His son was playing shogi alone. Most likely, he had been there all night, waiting for him.

_"Oh, great! I didn't want to see anyone until tomorrow...What an hassle!"_

"C'mon pops, spill it." Shikamaru demanded.

"Well, uh, nothing too important...uh, we talked about Danzo and some new guy and the new Hokage and that was it..."

"So?"

"So...we have a new Hokage, hurray! Byesonsleepwell..." Shikaku darted towards his room but stopped suddenly as one of Asuma's blades stabbed his shadow. "Oh, drag..."

"Shadow Possession Shuriken Jutsu...I bet you know it." Shikamaru said with a grin, before lazily getting back up. "Now, you're going to tell me what happened in that meeting. I advise you to be quick or I'll wake up mom."

"You kids are just too troublesome in these days!" An angry Shikaku protested but then turned his head back into his room's direction, afraid that he could have awaken Yoshino. He let out a defeated sigh and turned back to his son. "Alright, I'll tell you..."

(...)

"I can't be Hokage." Shizune was the next one to excuse herself. "It would be a honor to become Hokage but I don't have enough confidence on myself. There's no way the citizens and shinobi of Konoha would trust a Hokage who doesn't trust himself."

"On the same way of thinking, they wouldn't trust some stranger who just came back to the village." Nawirama capitalized on Shizune's words and excused himself too.

"Well, I have to agree with both. Very well, Nawirama Senju and Shizune Namikaze, neither of you will be Hokage." Homura decided.

"_These guys are fast to pull the trigger! I'll have to be the next one or..."_

"My greatest apologies, but I can't be Hokage." Hiashi spoke before Shikaku could.

_"Damn it!"_

"Why is that, Hiashi?" Koharu questioned, like she did with everyone else.

"Because I'm already the head of the biggest clan of Konoha. I would gladly assume the position of Hokage but my daughter Hinata isn't ready to become our clan's head. For the well of the Hyuga Clan, I must not become Hokage."

"The Third was the head of the Sarutobi Clan during his reign as Hokage." Homura remembered.

"Yes but, while I don't intend to belittle Sandaime-sama's work, the Sarutobi Clan wasn't and isn't as big as the Hyuga Clan. A poor management of the clan would influence a big part of Konoha's forces. I'm sure the other clan leaders and former...clan leaders, understand what I mean." Hiashi looked back to his father who nodded. _"I just hope there's someone left to compete with him."_

"A fine explanation...Hiashi Hyuga, you won't be Hokage." Homura once again made the final choice. "Anyone else?"

"Hey, me! I haven't spoken yet!" Shikaku raised his hand, causing everyone to look at him.

"_Damn it! What a fool Nara! Hasn't he realized that if he quits, the Hokage will be either Hiyoshi Hyuga or...that freak?" _Tsume searched Might Guy with her eyes. He was in the middle of one his five second poses, weird enough to make the Inuzuka Clan leader slap her own head in dismay. At her side, even Shibi seemed worried.

"Shikaku Nara, do you have a good excuse?"

"Well, in fact..." Shikaku stopped to ajdust his deer skin coat, showing off the symbol of his clan. "I'm the head of the Nara Clan."

"A small clan without the need of constant supervision of its leader." Homura quickly countered.

"Ugh...but my skills aren't that good for a Kage!"

"You're about as strong as Kakashi or Hiashi! Don't try to fool us!" Koharu harshly scolded Shikamaru's father. "Even if you weren't, your intelect would be enough to make you a candidate."

"Well, then I guess it's time for me to put it to work." Shikaku smirked and hanged his hands down together._ "Yes, that may be the only way..."_

"Damn it, he'll come up with a good excuse..." Inoichi whispered and Choza nodded in agreement.

"Don't forget I was in the last three meetings with the daimyo. I was there when Jiraiya, Tsunade and Danzo's names were pondered. I know how things work." Shikaku confidently started. "While the last word belongs to the daimyo, there has to be an agreement between five certain members of the village. In this case four, since Danzo has been relieved of his position as adviser."

_"Eh, he's so wrong if he thinks I'll let him..." _Koharu thought with a smirk. _"Otherwise, I would be against it, but he's better than those other two."_

"So the four are the two current advisers, the captain commander of the ANBU and..." Shikaku pointed a thumb to his chest. "...me! The Jounin Commander! I won't become Hokage unless I agree to."

"That's selfish of you, Shikaku." Homura criticized.

"One has gotta do what one has gotta do." Shikaku simply answered. "If you don't want me to use my Jounin Commander's privilege, then pull me out of the voting."

"There's something you're missing, Shikaku." Koharu started. "As of today, you've been relieved of your functions as Jounin Commander."

"What?" The shocked Shikaku shouted.

"The moment Genma Shiranui, Aoba Yamashiro and Raido Namiashi voted on you, you lost your position as Jounin Commander, until the voting is finished. That's a common rule to avoid situations like this one. It would be the same if someone voted on either one of us." Homura revealed.

(...)

"They set me up." The upset Shikaku rubbed the back of his head. "No one voted on either Hiyoshi or Guy and considering they couldn't vote on themselves, I won with 100% of the votes."

"Wait! You? You're the Hokage? I can't believe the laziest shinobi in the history of Konoha has become Hokage!" Shikamaru laughed like he had never laughed before. Finally, he was hearing something that made him forget Sasuke's actions in the Land of Iron.

"Hey, kid! Don't be like that! Your grandfather Shikanosuke was even worse!"

"Okay dad, I'll let you of the hook this time, but you're going to tell mom that we're moving on your own." Shikamaru took Asuma's blade of Shikaku's shadow and left his father planted there. "Have a good night, Hokage-sama."

"That damn brat..."

"Shikaku!" The new Hokage suddenly froze as he heard his wife's voice. "Do you know how late it is?"

**End of Flashback**

"...and also a great leader. Starting today, Konohagakure's Rokudaime Hokage is...Shikaku Nara!" Koharu concluded and Shikaku came out to the top of the Hokage's Residence, so everybody could see him.

_"Why have they to be so many? Well, at least my wife and Tsume aren't here..." _Shikaku sighed heavily before starting his speech. "Uh, thank you advisers, I guess... People of Konoha..."

"Bah! Naruto-niichan should be the Sixth Hokage, not this lazy has-been." An annoyed Konohamaru said.

"W-What? You shouldn't say that Konohamaru-kun. Shikaku-sama is one of the most talented and respected shinobi from Konoha." Ebisu corrected, while he fixed his glasses.

"Yeah you would know it, you closet pervert..."

"Someone must be talking about you." Sakura said as Naruto sneezed.

"I just hope it's not one of those out of the closet jokes." A still angry Naruto said.

"...it may be troublesome, but it needs to be done. Shizune will say who are those teams and they are to immediately come to my office. Thank you all of you from Konoha and, uh, keep the hard work..." Shikaku turned back to his new office, as soon as he finished his speech.

"So the teams that are to come to Hokage-sama's office are Team Guy, Team Asuma, all five members of Team Kakashi and all the active members of Team Kurenai. That's all." Shizune announced.

"What? What's happening?" Naruto wondered as he didn't listen to Shikaku's speech. He saw both Hyugas, Tenten, Choji and Ino quickly leaving towards the tower. He looked back and saw Sakura and the others doing the same. "A mission, huh? About damn time!"

* * *

**-WIKIA**

1. Characters:

1.1 Shikanosuke Nara - Father of Shikaku, Grandfather of Shikamaru. Currently deceased. While it's unlikely I'll use him in this story, I'm going to use him in a Gaiden like story that will separate part II from part III.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** A Battle of Snakes, Part 1

-nawirama13


	14. A Battle of Snakes, Part 1

Gosh, I can't believe how many reviews I've been receiving! Thanks for all the support.

The poll will be closed after next chapter is published. You still have time to vote and, perhaps, change the course of this fic! (The guy who keeps pushing his poll down your throats is really annoying, isn't he? xD)

Enjoy the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 014 - A Battle of Snakes, Part 1

* * *

"So, where's Kisame?" Madara asked to the returning Zetsu.

**"****He's been having some trouble to isolate the Jinchuriki because he was on his way to Konoha. Fortunately, he immediately left the village and it seems that he's returning to the Land of Lightning. Kisame's only waiting for both of them to be at a long enough distance from Konoha to attack.****"**

"Good. We can't afford to lose him at this point... Have you told him about our new hideout?"

**"****Yes Madara-sama, but...**

"...are you really going to kill her?" Zetsu's white part finished the black one's question.

"If it is necessary, yes. One way or the other, our new base is going to be there."

**"****Very well. Is Sasuke still asleep?****" **Black Zetsu changed the subject.

"No, he woke up awhile ago. He's reaction was quite something. He still wouldn't accept his brother's eyes but I managed to convince him. You can start the surgery. I'll leave to take care of some business."

**"****As you wish, Madara-sama.****" **Zetsu slightly bowed before walking out of the room.

_"Things are going well after all."_ Madara thought to himself. _"Now to find those new members..."_

* * *

"Shikamaru! You're already here?" Choji asked, surprised to see his best friend already inside Shikaku's office. "You weren't down there at the announcement."

"Yeah. I already knew who was the new Hokage-sama..." Shikamaru felt his father's glare but shrugged it off. As soon as the new Hokage reached his office, he had immediately changed attires, seeing as he was now wearing his usual clothes, except the deer skin coat. "I asked permission to miss the announcement and go with Kurenai to the hospital. Sorry not to tell you guys."

"How is Kurenai-sensei and the baby?" Shino asked.

"They're fine. Only some more weeks." Shikamaru said with a grin.

"Why have you called us Hokage-sama?" Lee enthusiasticly asked.

"We're still missing one so you'll have to wait a bit more." Shikaku informed. "_Damn kid is too hyperactive, geez..."_

"Sorry Hokage-sama, my bad." Nawirama rubbed the back of his head as he entered the office.

"Don't worry, I know what caused your delay and I don't mind it at all." Nawirama traded a look with Shizune, who he was sure had told Shikaku what he was doing. "Nice to see that you're already using our village's attire."

"Well, it's also one of the reasons for my delay. Once again, I'm sorry for being late, Hokage-sama." Nawirama slightly bowed.

"C'mon Nawirama, we're all friends in here. There's no need for these kind of things. It's troublesome. I also don't like the Hokage-sama thing so you can all just call me Shikaku." Some chuckled at how laid back Shikaku was. Because of that, it was hard to remember that Shikaku was their Hokage. "I'll get straight to the point. You're all to be sent on S-rank missions. There's a lot of important things to do right now."

_"S-Rank?" _Many ot the younger ones thought.

"Before Pain's invasion, a team composed by Anko, Yamato and Sai was sent on a mission to find Kabuto Yakushi. Yamato and Sai had to return and Anko was left to complete the mission by herself. As you may know, many teams have been looking for both but we can't find them. That's why I'm sending you to do it. You've all grown up a lot and I trust you to complete this mission."

"But Shikaku-san, what about Sasuke?"

"I knew you would ask that Naruto. I won't send all of you in the same mission. Half of you will hunt Akatsuki members, including Sasuke." Shikaku revealed. "I've decided that we'll need to change teams a bit so that we can make this work."

_"Change?" _Again, another thought was shared by some of the present shinobi. They didn't expect to be separated from their original partners in such a high-ranked mission.

"Team Guy is the only one that won't be changed." Unlike his partners, Neji didn't seem relieved. "Now, Team Asuma is lacking a member and I decided that Kakashi should be their team leader for this mission. You've teamed up to fight Hidan and Kakuzu before and the results were excellent. I guess there's no problem?"

"Not at all." Kakashi nodded and joined his new partners.

"Now, the major changes...Yamato will lead the members of Team Kurenai and Nawirama will lead the members of Team Kakashi. Also, I'm sending Sai to Yamato's team and Hinata to Nawirama's." Nawirama, Yamato and Sai simply nodded and joined their new partners. Hinata liked the idea of teaming up with Naruto but didn't really want to leave her longtime partners. Kiba was the one to vocally disagree.

"How can you break our team in such a dangerous mission? We're used to work together for years."

"Well Kiba, I hope you didn't forget that you're a shinobi who's going on a mission that can possibly have a great impact on the village. You're not making a trip to an amusement park. I also hope you didn't forget that you're a Chunin, who's supposed to be able to lead other teams and do missions by himself. Do I have the need to demote you back to Genin?" Shikaku scolded Kiba who walked back and remained quiet. "Iruka was Anko's partner under Neji's father when he was your age and he's teaming with two of my former students, Izumo and Kotetsu right now and none of them complained. I'll explain my motives later."

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama." Kiba let out with his head hanged down.

_"Troublesome boy...he really is Tsume's son." _

"I believe we can continue now, Shikaku-san." Kakashi broke the unconfortable silence.

"Well, Team Guy and Team Yamato will search for Kabuto while Team Kakashi and Team Nawirama will search for the Akatsuki and Sasuke. I'll explain why." Shikaku specifically stared to Kiba as he said this. "Team Yamato is basically a tracking team. Kiba and Akamaru's sense of smell, Shino's insects and Sai's ink beasts are perfect for that. Yamato has to be the leader of this team because he was working with Anko before. He knows what methods Anko is using to track him and already has some idea of which way Kabuto is taking. Any questions, Team Yamato?"

"Now, Team Guy is the assault team." Shikaku continued as no one spoke. "If you come across Kabuto, you're to attack him with everything you have. You're the assault team. Team Guy and Team Yamato, your mission is to rescue Anko Mitarashi and to capture Kabuto Yakushi. If you can't, then kill him. As much as I would like to extract intel from him, I don't want another Orochimaru around. Any questions?" Nobody questioned Shikaku but Tenten noticed the strained look on Neji's face.

"Team Kakashi, you're what I call the ambush team."

_"Father sure doesn't have talent for naming teams..."_

"Kakashi and Shikamaru, you're to find a way to ambush any member from Akatsuki you find and bring them back to the village. It's going to be much like the Niju Shotai, so I think there's not much to explain here. I'll leave it too you. Any questions?"

"Shikaku-san, I want to ask your permission so that the team's name remains Team Asuma to honor my partners former sensei." Kakashi asked, causing his surprised partners to look at him.

"You know I was very attached to Asuma, don't you Kakashi? Of course I approve. Any questions, Team Asuma?" Nobody talked but all of them, even Ino, smiled to know they would remain Team Asuma. "I've sent other teams to find Akatsuki as well, but you're to act independently of them and only in contact with Team Nawirama."

"Team Nawirama, you'll have the most difficult part of the mission. You're a support team. Hinata's Byakugan should help to find the Akatsuki and to remain alert so Team Asuma knows when to hit. Sakura's medical ninjutsu will be essential if something goes wrong. Nawirama's job will be to protect all members from his team so they won't get hurt until Team Asuma's plan works. Naruto, I'm sorry to say but you're the bait. They will go after you and I don't want you to fight unless it's really necessary." Naruto was already expecting that he would be put out of action but he knew he couldn't jeopardize this oppurtunity and simply nodded.

_"Hm, the kid's smarter than I thought." _Shikaku then continued. "Team Asuma and Team Nawirama you're to capture any member of Akatsuki you find. Try to capture only one because it will almost impossible for you to get more. If your plan fails then hit for the kill. In a fight scenario, only Kakashi and Nawirama are allowed to fight and you Naruto, only as a last resort. Any questions?" Nobody from Team Nawirama talked, Neji did it instead.

"Hokage-sama, I want your permission to be in the mission to get Sasuke."

"And why is that Neji?"

"It's my job to protect Hinata-sama. I know it sounds bad. A Jounin shouldn't be acting so selfishly, but..." Neji looked to his cousin, silently asking for forgiveness, before turning back to the Rokudaime. "...I'm sure you're aware of what happened during the Invasion of Pain."

"So?" Shikaku bluntly asked.

"I have to make sure it doesn't happen again!" Neji sounded louder than he wanted to. "She's the heiress of the Hyuga Clan and...my little sister."

_"Neji...niisan..." _Hinata couldn't believe Neji was openly expressing himself like that. Shikaku stared at him for awhile and sighed.

"I'm aware of what happened. Tell me Neji, do you believe you could stop her if she wanted to do it again?"

"I can't allow Hinata to get hurt." Neji pleaded to Shikaku. "Please, Hokage-sama."

"Wanting to protect someone isn't being selfish. It's having a heart. I'm surprised you have one." Shikaku smirked, causing Neji's hopes to increase. "Unfortunately, there's a reason why I didn't put you both on the same mission. I need one Byakugan user in each one. At this moment, your mission has a bigger urgence to be completed and if I take you from Team Guy, it will be much harder to find Kabuto. Sorry, it can't be done."

"Aren't other Hyugas available, then?" Neji tried other approach, but this one seemed to make Shikaku upset.

"Don't you think you may hurt your cousin's feeling like that? Doubting her strength? Asking for someone to take her place is doing exactly that." Neji frowned and pondered that, while Shikaku picked up some files. "Hiashi's report about the Hyuga Clan that he just lefted me before leaving on his mission...Best Byakugan users in terms of the achieved distance they can see: nº1, Tokuma Hyuga, currently trying to find Kabuto; nº2, Hiraku Hyuga, currently trying to find Akatsuki; nº3, Hiashi Hyuga, currently trying to find Akatsuki; nº4, Neji Hyuga, currently in this office; nº5, Hinata Hyuga, currently in this office...Where will I find a better Byakugan user to replace Hinata?"

"I..." Neji seemed surprised by this report. "I don't know, Hokage-sama."

"Don't worry, Neji. I'll protect her with my life."

"Naruto?" Neji looked to Naruto, who was resting one hand on Hinata's shoulder.

_"Naruto-kun? You would?" _Hinata blushed while she looked up to him.

"I won't let anything happen to Hinata. I promise you." Naruto lifted his fist like he did when he promised Neji that he would beat him, after Neji's match with Hinata at the Chunin Exams.

"And don't forget me." Nawirama intervened, putting his hands on both Naruto and Hinata's shoulders. "My part in this mission is to protect my partners and...if it makes you feel better, I'll let you know that I'm faaar stronger than our Hokage, so there's no way Hinata, Sakura or Naruto will get hurt."

"Far stronger? I beat you in the Chunin Exams, remember?" The upset Shikaku countered, while Nawirama put both his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"Well, that's because I quit since I didn't want to kill a friend." Nawirama grinned and Shikaku sighed.

"You sure loosened up during the meeting, uh?"

"Do you trust us, Neji?" Naruto asked.

"I...do, Naruto. Thank you." Neji slightly bowed and returned to his place. _"At least I want to..."_

"Well, anymore questions?" Nobody talked. "So go and get ready. You'll leave as soon as you are. Oh, Nawirama and Kakashi, I want you to stay for just a minute. I need to talk with you both." Everybody left, except for the two Jounins who traded a worried look.

* * *

"Since you're the Kazekage, you can't just leave the village in such a mission. Besides, you're still recovering from that battle."

"I know that, Kankuro, but it makes me feel useless." Gaara wanted to be part of the team that was leaving Sunagakure to hunt Sasuke but as Kazekage, he couldn't just leave his village unprotected.

"Come on Gaara, you can't have all the fun to yourself." Temari said, while putting her fan behing her back.

"Damn sis, don't tease him." Kankuro warned her. "Sometimes it looks like you're the younger of us and not the older."

"Well, at least I'm not the one who plays with dolls..." Temari said before laughing.

"What the hell did you say?"

"Stop, you two." Gaara got up of his chair and both his brothers stopped their bickering. Even though he was the younger one, Gaara was by far the strongest of the Sand Siblings, with or without Shukaku. "I'm sorry about this Baki. I'm going to tell you about your mission." Baki, Temari and Kankuro nodded and listened quietly to his explanation.

* * *

"So, we're to join with a team from the Sand Village to find Sasuke." Kurotsuchi and her partners had just received the instructions for their mission by Onoki, the Tsuchikage. _"I would rather do this by myself..."_

"Well, I'm not happy to waste my shinobi to find this Sasuke, but is has to be done. As you know, it was decided in the Land of Iron that our main allies would be the Sand Village and therefore they will join you in this quest." Kurotsuchi was so sure that her grandfather had already said that. Maybe he was going senile... "So, while everyone else is by their own, you're to team up with three of their finest shinobi in order to hunt not only Sasuke, but every member from Akatsuki. That is your mission, Kurotsuchi, Ittan, Kizu. Understood?"

"Yes, Tsuchikage-sama." Both Ittan and Kizu slightly bowed.

"And remember...not only Sasuke, but every member from Akatsuki." Onoki repeated.

_"Old man is really going senile." _Kurotsuchi thought, until she saw his eyes fixed on her. _"Oh, it was on purpose, huh? Still, it's only Sasuke I'm interested in..."_

* * *

_"Ah, interesting..." _Kabuto thought as he felt the hunter closer, as soon as he walked out of the forest and into a plain green field.

"Summoning: Jadoku" Anko whispered back from the woods. The ground below Kabuto started to shake and a giant blue snake emerged from it, swallowing the scientist. "Got him!"

"Yeah, got him." She heard the voice just behind her. As Anko turned, she was kicked away but still managed to block the blow by crossing her arms in front of her chest, being only sent some meters away with no further damage. Anko did a trio of backflips to gain some more distance. "You got my Shadow Clone, that is...So it was you, Anko."

"Kabuto Yakushi, you're coming with me back to Konoha to be judged by your crimes." Anko shouted as he walked out of the clearing, his face covered by the hood of his cloak.

"And what if I refuse?" Kabuto said, while he took his glasses away.

"Then I guess I have to make you come by force." Anko grinned. She knew it could only be that way. The snake user made a sign with her fingers and the blue snake charged towards the medic-nin. Kabuto jumped and performed a set of hand seals, before slamming his hand into the incoming snake's head. The creature immediately disappeared in a cloud of white smoke. "What the hell was that?"

"Oh, just something Orochimaru-sama developed." Kabuto said like it was nothing. "Space-Time Jutsu: Summoning Regression, it forces a summon to return back to the place from where it was summoned. Useful..."

"Tss, I was thinking about using Jadoku if the ambush failed, but you're not even letting me do that." Anko smirked. One thing she loved was a challenge and Kabuto could give her that.

"So you who were once one of Orochimaru-sama's guinea pigs are now a criminal hunter. That's amusing." Kabuto chuckled. "What makes you think you can defeat me?"

**Flashback**

"Kinako-san, Hanami-san, I would like to ask your permission for me to be your daughter's tutor from now on." Orochimaru asked to Anko's parents.

"Why is that, Orochimaru-san?" Hanami, Anko's mother, asked in a polite but unsure tone.

"I've been following Anko's steps in the academy and she has shown enough progress to have the right to be called a prodegy." Orochimaru explained. "I think that with the right person teaching her, she may have a bright future ahead of her."

"I don't know." Hanami shook her head. "Have you spoken with the Third?"

"Yes." Orochimaru answered in his usual hissing way of speaking. "I'll teach her outside of the academy. When she graduates, she'll be put in a Genin team under a Jounin sensei. The Third wants her to keep on developing her teamwork, but I'll continue to train her when she has free time."

"Hanami, he's one of the Sannin. There's no denial that he's one of the most powerful shinobi from our generation, if not the strongest. His teachings would do wonders for Anko." Kinako tried to convince his wife.

"I don't want her to end up like Nawaki." Hanami whispered, so that Nawaki's former mentor wouldn't hear.

"That was a terrible accident that was caused by his own wrecklessness. This is for the best, Hanami." Kinako insisted and Hanami eventually nodded. "You have our authorization, Orochimaru."

"That's wonderful. Wonderful, indeed..." Orochimaru grinned, making quite an effort to avoid licking his own lips. Behind the closed door of the room, young Anko heard everything that was discussed. She felt an indescribable happiness inside her, by knowking that someone believed in her so much.

**End of Flashback**

"Even though he called me a failure in the Forest of Death years ago, I know that at some point he believed in my strength. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a reason for him to pick me up." Anko's grin fell and a murderous look appeared as she drew a kunai. "Don't belittle me, bastard. You better believe I'm strong."

"Oh, I believe you're strong. I just believe that I'm stronger." Kabuto countered.

"Maybe I just need an incitive. Why don't you take off that coat and show me how you look now?" Anko challenged the man who possessed Orochimaru's remains in his own body. Kabuto chuckled and decided to do what he was asked. As the coat came down, Kabuto's face was shown to be slightly more than half white. His left eye was now totally like Orochimaru's. Anko could see in the opening of his shirt that the white pigmentation that came from his left arm extended to the middle of his chest and neck.

"60% of me is now Orochimaru...Do I look good or what?" Kabuto asked before laughing like a maniac.

"As I thought...With you now looking like Orochimaru, there's just no way I'll let you wander around any longer." Anko took off her jacket and rushed towards her opponent.

* * *

"Come in." Shikaku allowed as someone knocked. As soon as the door opened, Shikaku frowned and a drop of sweat rolled down his face. Ao and Chojuro had just entered in the office. "I hope you're enjoying your stay in our village." Shikaku said to the two Mist shinobi.

"We want to thank you for your hospitality, Mizuka...I mean, Hokage-sama." Ao slightly bowed and Shikaku clenched his teeth as he knew that Ao's choice of words wasn't a mistake. Chojuro seemed to be confused by seeing the look on Shikaku's face and the slight smirk on Ao's.

"What's the real motive that brought you here?"

"Well, as you know it was decided that the Leaf and Mist villages are to work together against Akatsuki and that's why we're here." Ao remembered. "So what's our mission?"

"I've sent two of my finest teams to find Sasuke. I'm sorry but I can't put you in that mission because it would be very difficult to change the plans at this point." Ao and Chojuro looked at him disappointed. As Ao was about to answer, Shikaku already had the solution. "But I think you'll be quite interested in what I have for you."

"And why is that...Hokage-sama?" Ao asked in a kind of ironic tone, causing Shikaku to frown again.

"From what has been told to me, only Madara and Zetsu were at the summit. So, there's one member left. I assume that he is on a different mission." Chojuro stared down. He knew very well who this last member was. "It's only an assumption on my part but I'm quite sure he's tracking the Hachibi's Jinchuriki, Killer Bee."

"But it's going to be very difficult to find him. We don't have any idea where he is." Ao replied.

"In fact we do." Shikaku said to the surprise of both the Mist shinobi. "My son Shikamaru came across Killer Bee in our front gate, a couple of days ago. Before he left, Killer Bee told him that he was returning to his village. The way Shikamaru described him, I'm sure he isn't so far away as he should. Gentlemen, I know it's troublesome, but I want you to find Killer Bee and defend the Jinchuriki against Kisame Hoshigaki. Try to bring the latter alive if you can."

"Of course, Hokage-sama. We will make sure that the Jinchuriki survives." Shikaku noticed how the Hunter-nin didn't adress the second thing he was asked to do. Ao slightly bowed and Chojuro only nodded, before leaving.

_"Kisame-senpai...I always hoped that I would never see you again."_

* * *

Anko duck out from Kabuto's backfist like Chakra Scalpel slash, before delivering a backslap of her own. As the blow slightly stunned Kabuto, Anko was able to follow with a low kick that brought the medic-nin to one knee. The third blow, a spinning heel kick to the back of the head, didn't connect however since Kabuto managed to duck. Orochimaru's former assistant stabbed with his chakra-enveloped right hand but Anko dodged just barely, so she remained at a close enough distance to hit a backflip kick. Kabuto was sent into the air and Anko followed him with a jump, hitting half a dozen rising kicks into his chest and a spinning backfist that Kabuto blocked with his arm. Since the blow didn't have the full impact, Kabuto was able to land in a proper way to avoid more damage.

Kabuto's problem was that Anko also had a smooth landing and was charging once again. With the help of a Body Flicker Jutsu, Anko jumped and wrapped herself in a sphere, threwing herself forward like a midair thin version of the Akimichi's Human Bullet Tank. Kabuto crossed both arms in front of his chest to block the attack but the impact sent them both flying, with the rolling Anko maintaining the contact with her opponent. The short distance kept by the Tokubetsu didn't let Kabuto use a counter jutsu and so, after two seconds, the last somersault ended with a kick into Kabuto's jaw.

"Your style..." Kabuto got on one knee and wiped the blood of his lips. "...too unpredictable."

"Oh, you think so? Do you like it? Do you like the way I take out other people's teeth?" Anko mockingly asked as she saw Kabuto spitting one of his.

"Hard way. Doesn't seem like a woman's." Kabuto reacted with words before rushing with his hands glowing. The first slash, aimed at her left leg, forced her to jump. The second one, performed in a rising motion, didn't allow her to dodge, so she released two kunais, one from each sleeve, and blocked Kabuto's attack with them. She landed back on the ground and both struggled for advantage, Anko pressing down and Kabuto pushing upwards. That left an opening for Kabuto's free hand to stab his opponent's belly, but Anko did a somersault over Kabuto and landed behind him.

Back to back, Kabuto attempted a turning slash but Anko caught his left hand under her right armpit. Shifting his position slightly, Kabuto attempted a chakra-enveloped palm thrust to the right side of her stomach, but the snake user lifted her leg and used it to trap the scientist's right arm. That strange position remained only for a second, as Anko used Kabuto's arms as leverage for a backflip. Front to front, Kabuto tried a double palm thrust to Anko's belly but she let herself fall backwards, laying a hand on the ground and kicking his arms upwards. After a kip up, Anko rushed and performed some seals but wasn't able to perform the jutsu, having a feeling of being constricted instead.

"So that's your new trick, huh Kabuto?" Anko was gasping for air, with the white snake that came from Kabuto's left sleeve wrapping her.

"Not only the snake tricks. I also gained a good amount of chakra. You were a fool to think you could defeat me." Anko chuckled and a look of curiosity appeared in Kabuto's face. "What's so funny, Anko?"

"Fire Style: Hand of Flames" Having performed the hand seals earlier, Anko pressed her right hand against the snake's body. Then, flames came from her palm and made a hole in the snake's body, before continuing towards Kabuto. If not for his Chakra Scalpel cutting the snake off, the fire would envelop his white arm. Anko jumped back, holding her slightly burned belly from using that jutsu too close to her own body.

_"Not only did she free herself, she almost took off my arm along with the snake. I need to be more careful." _Kabuto looked up and to his surprise she was already unleashing another jutsu.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu" Anko spat multiple fireballs towards her opponent but he dodged them all. To his surprise, the fireballs changed their direction and came back towards him.

"Water Style: Hand of Waves" Kabuto launched a stream of water from his hand that put out the fireballs but didn't stop the shurikens. He dodged once again but got trapped in the translucent strings that Anko was using to control them.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu" A stream of fire came from Anko's mouth and advanced through the wires in Kabuto's direction but, before they could reach him, Kabuto used his Chakra Scalpels to get free. He then tried to slash her again with the chakra blades but Anko dodged or blocked with one of her kunais.

"Hidden Shadow Snakes" Two white snakes came from his left sleeve and wrapped her right arm. He then used the Chakra Scalpel on his right hand to cut through her chest but she blocked with her left hand. A stream of blood came from the gash in the back of her hand. She grunted and backed off after kicking him in the arm, causing the snakes to release her. "C'mon Anko-san, not even a scream of pain?"

"I won't give you that pleasure yet. Multiple Hidden Shadow Snakes" She intoned after licking the blood of her wound. The large amount of snakes that came out of her sleeves were all directed to Kabuto, who managed to dodge or slice through them all. Doing so however, made him lose track of his opponent.

"Where is s...ugh!" Kabuto couldn't end his sentence since Anko hit him with a high knee to the jaw. Anko pinned him to the ground, locked her left hand in his right and stabbed both hands with her kunai. Both of them screamed in pain.

"Didn't you want to hear me scream? I think you couldn't hear it because of that scream of yours." She slightly panted and grinned.

"Aargh! W-What are you doing?" Kabuto yelled at her.

"Eheheh, I'm doing what I should have done to Orochimaru. I may die but I'll take you with me!" She chuckled at the same time that she performed seals with both her and his hand. _"What you don't know is that I developed the jutsu to the point it isn't suicidal anymore!"_

"What? You damn woman!" Kabuto hissed as he recognized the procedure.

"Twin Snake..." Anko couldn't finish the jutsu due to Kabuto stretching his neck and biting her on the place where she had the Cursed Seal of Heaven. She screamed in pain while Kabuto used his Chakra Scalpel to get free from the snakes that were involving them. He took off the kunai that was binding them together and jumped back to a safe distance.

"Soft Physique Modification, a little trick that we can do after some surgeries... Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Jutsu" Anko started to scream even louder, holding her pain-burning neck with one hand and her head with the other. "_This genjutsu creates a terrifying illusion, most likely one of a person's greatest fears coming true and I know that your greatest fear is that Cursed Seal taking over you once again." _Kabuto made his hands shine once again and darted towards Anko. "I'll make good use of your corpse!"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu" Kabuto forced himself to stop in time to dodge the fireball. The medic straightned himself to look to the men with a senbon in his mouth that appeared in front of him.

"Release!" Anko stopped her screaming and got up with help from the one who stopped the genjutsu. "Are you alright, Anko?"

"I-Iruka!" Anko was surprised to see her former teammate there. She looked to the other side and saw Genma in front of Kabuto. "You shouldn't be here."

"Well, I couldn't let you get killed and Genma is just too stubborn to let this opportunity pass by." Iruka smiled before turning to Kabuto as well.

"Kukuku, I wonder how stupid the Konoha superiors really are. A weakened freaky snake bitch, a senbon spitter and a kindergarten teacher? Who's next? Teuchi?" Kabuto mocked the Konoha shinobi, while he rubbed his neck that was still adapting to the recent surgery.

"You know, I was pretty sure that Naruto, one of my kindergarten students, kicked your ass in more than one occasion." Iruka remarked as he made his knuckles crack.

"And by the way, I may spit some senbons but at least I didn't swallow Orochimaru's grapefruits." Genma spat his senbon at such high speed that Kabuto failed to dodge completely.

"How dare you?" A furious Kabuto shouted as he saw that he was bleeding from the small cut on his cheek, while his male opponenets laughed.

"Do you remember our Heaven's Blessing Combination, Genma?" Anko asked.

"Sure do." The male Tokubetsu Jounin nodded as he understood what he had to do.

"Well guys...I hope you're ready!" Anko shouted, before all of them rushed towards their common enemy.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** A Battle of Snakes, Part 2

-nawirama13


	15. A Battle of Snakes, Part 2

As promised, the poll is now over. Hinata wins with 38% of the votes. Neji and Lee tied in second place with 22% each. One of them may interfere in the fight though.

This chapter's wikia includes the last chapter as well.

Thanks for the support and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 015 - A Battle of Snakes, Part 2

* * *

"Did you find them, Sai?" Yamato asked, some moments after the ink dogs dissolved into a message in Sai's scroll.

"No. They must be a bit farther." Sai answered, before performing a hand seal that caused the message to revert back into the dog pack.

"And you, Shino?" Yamato tried once again, as Shino's insects returned and surrounded their host.

"Not yet, Yamato-taicho." Shino calmly replied.

"Kiba, Akamaru, what about you?"

"There's a smell that is making it hard to follow Anko-san's scent. Something burnt." Kiba said with a frown on his face. Akamaru barked and all of them went to see what he found. Burnt body parts of humans and snakes were laying on the ground in front of them.

"I guess that Anko was not the only one following Kabuto..." Yamato pondered as he picked up a broken half of a Root's tanto.

* * *

"Byakugan" The veins around Neji's eyes swell once again and he looked around the forest.

"Can you see them, Neji-kun?" Lee impatiently asked, but the Hyuga genius just shook his head.

"What do you think, Tenten?" Guy asked in his serious tone, while his female student checked the corpses they had just found.

"These cuts were done with a small weapon but powered up with the user's chakra. Perhaps this was done by Kabuto's dissection blades, Guy-sensei." Tenten answered after a short while.

"Yamato-san, can you hear me?" Guy talked through his communication system, since that was the only way they had to communicate with Team Yamato. They were already too far away, but he still hoped that Yamato could hear him. "Yamato?"

"Yes Guy, I'm hearing now."

"Good. It seems like they are heading north. We must not be that far away from our youthful friend Anko-san." Guy stopped to stare to the dead bodies in front of him and continued. "Be careful, Tenzo. It looks like Danzo's men are following them. Over."

"We just found the bodies of two who had the unfortunate luck of meeting her. Thanks for the information, Guy-kun. Over."

"What about now? Can you see them now, Neji-kun?" Lee asked yet again.

"Finally in range..." Neji announced with a smirk.

* * *

"You really think this plan will work, Kakashi-sensei?" Shikamaru asked. He wasn't sure about it even though Kakashi said it was a great stratagem.

"Why? You're doubting your own plan's chances?" Kakashi asked back.

"Well, indeed I am." Shikamaru grinned.

"I didn't lie to you. The plan really is great. The problem is that maybe it won't be enough." Kakashi gave him his eye smile. "Personally, I think the plan is even better than the one you devised to fight against Hidan and Kakuzu. The problem is that we don't know who we'll meet. Can be Madara or that other guy Zetsu...I don't believe we'll meet Sasuke, not after that summit."

"And we don't know a thing about that Zetsu guy or Madara's full strength..." Shikamaru concluded. "Kakashi-sensei, if things go wrong, I want to fight along with you and Nawirama-san."

"Sorry Shikamaru, but you heard your father's orders." Kakashi immediately shook his head.

"Geez Kakashi-sensei, you know I'm capable of fighting. I've defeated Hidan by myself." Shikamaru noticed he was talking too loud and stopped for awhile, so Ino and Choji wouldn't hear their conversation. "I want to protect my friends. I want to protect Konoha and its future. Akatsuki puts them at risk, so I'll have to step up and fight."

"Won't that be too troublesome?" Kakashi asked and Shikamaru answered by shaking his head. "Very well. I'll put you in the same situation as Naruto. You can fight but only as a last resort."

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." Shikamaru gratefully said, a smirk appearing on his face.

_"He was so lazy, even more than his father...but since Asuma's death he understood what is really important. He really has grown into a fine shinobi."_ Kakashi thought, a smirk of his own appearing behind the mask. _"Good job, Asuma. A really good job..."_

* * *

"Hey Sakura, may I ask you something?"

"Of course, Nawirama-sensei." Sakura nodded and came closer to her team leader.

"You don't have to call me that. I didn't teach you anything." Nawirama shook his head.

"Oh sorry, Nawirama-taicho." Sakura corrected herself.

"Forget the taicho thing too." Nawirama sighed and almost rolled his eyes. "I wanted to ask you what's happening here. I was told that Hinata was a shy girl who didn't talk much, but I didn't expect Naruto to be so...well, quiet. Did something happen?"

"Well, not really. The thing is that Naruto is starting to understand some very important things about his feelings."

"What? Are you saying that Naruto has..."

"No, that's not it." Sakura quickly interrupted before Naruto noticed.

"So...No coming out of the closet, right?" Nawirama whispered and Sakura nodded.

"I think you know by now that Naruto is an orphan. Since he always lived alone, there was no one there for guide him." Nawirama stared down and sighed once again. He was feeling bad by hearing that, because it was something that he couldn't forgive himself about. "Of course, there was Iruka-sensei and then us, Kakashi-sensei and Pervy S...er, Jiraiya-sama, but it isn't the same as having someone that is always with him. So, without a continuous guidance, he failed to learn some things and because of that he isn't really sure about some feelings that he's currently experiencing."

"Hm, I see...I already knew about many formal things about all the Konoha shinobi, like rankings, fighting styles, the kind of missions their best at, but I lack the knowledge about their personal things. I was speaking with Kakashi-senpai after we came out of the Hokage's office and I asked him about my partners. I was told some...interesting things about you and..."

"Interesting?" Sakura's eyebrow twitched and Nawirama slightly sweatdropped.

_"Scary is actually the best word..." _Nawirama thought, before shaking his head quite clumsly. "Yeah, interesting. Nothing to worry about. He didn't, uh, say bad things about you. No, no way..."

_"Kakashi-sensei..." _Sakura imagined herself punching her sensei, a swell vein appearing on her forehead.

"And I was told about Hinata's feelings for Naruto." Nawirama's words broke the medic-nin's dangerous thoughts. "She seems to be a very nice girl, doesn't she?"

"I would say the nicest girl in Konoha." Sakura confirmed. _"I really hope they get together..."_

"Well, if Naruto is starting to understand his feelings, then it shouldn't take long." Nawirama said with a very Naruto-like grin that surprised Sakura at first, before she let out a smirk of her own.

* * *

"Water Style: Violent Water Wave" Water gushed out from Genma's mouth like a water gun, aiming towards Kabuto who was already waving a scroll. A corpse appeared in a puff of smoke, being used by Kabuto as a shield to block the Water Style jutsu.

"Water Style: Serpent Stream" Kabuto capitalized on the water spat by Genma to create three water snakes that flew towards his opponent. The male Tokubetsu Jounin spat another water wave that clashed with the far left snake. Anko and Iruka went through half a dozen hand seals, a different set each.

"Earth Style: Great Mud River" As soon as Iruka completed his set, the ground around the three Konoha-nins transformed into a river of mud. Anko, who was still hurting, then completed her jutsu.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bomb" A dragon-like head emerged in front of Genma to fire concentrated mud at the two remaining snakes. The mud absorbed the water that composed the snakes before falling to the ground, due to them being heavier now. Then, the dragon created by Anko submerged into Iruka's river. "Crap, I must have missed a seal."

"That hand will be a pain in the ass..." Genma remarked, as he saw that Anko's left hand was still covered in blood. "It will be hard to make hand seals. Are you sure..."

"Like a stupid cut would stop me! Backing out from a fight? Hell no!" Anko aggressively countered, causing Genma to sigh.

"Not only her..." Kabuto interrupted the conversation. "All of you should back out. I know everything about the three of you...Genma Shiranui, a Jounin specialized in long-range assassination techniques, who was many times invited to be a part of the ANBU but refused each time. His techniques involve long-range weapons and he also has a high degree in ninjutsu. Chakra natures are water and fire."

"Not bad..." Genma whistled in appreciation by hearing Kabuto's knowledge about him. "I never told anyone about those invitations. Good job, traitor."

"Anko Mitarashi, former student of Orochimaru-sama, is a Jounin whose specialty is tracking, even though she doesn't have any physical advantage like the Inuzukas and Hyugas. Her fighting style revolves around snake summoning techniques and taijutsu. Chakra natures are earth and fire." Kabuto shifted his finger from Anko to Iruka. "Iruka Umino, a Chunin who uses barrier techniques. Has some good taijutsu skills and can devise some crafty traps. Chakra natures are earth and water."

"Knowledge isn't everything." Iruka offered some advice, while he took a scroll from one of his flak jacket's pockets. "You learn more from experiencing things. Besides, the information you have may be wrong."

"I spent a long time in Konoha. I'm pretty sure of the information I acquired." Kabuto arrogantly countered.

"Well, I warned you." Iruka said as he retrieved a folded Fuma Shuriken from his scroll. Seeing Iruka's weapon, Genma and Anko traded a look before both of them retrieved a scroll as well. Genma summoned a kusarigama, while Anko brought out a chokuto. "Kabuto Yakushi...prior to assimilating Orochimaru's remains, he was reported to be as strong as Kakashi Hatake. Highly capable medical-nin, who uses those skills in battle, along with necromantic techniques. Known chakra natures are earth and fire."

"See what he means?" Anko spoke, while she wrapped some bandages around her injured hand. Her chokuto was stabbed into the ground. "You've shown a water nature during our battle and the ability to summon snakes. That wasn't in the reports. As time goes, people get stronger, so the intel isn't always accurate."

"You haven't been in Konoha for awhile, boy. You're overestimating the intel you have." Genma pointed out before launching the kama in his hand. Kabuto avoided it and rushed towards his opponents, but Iruka launched the now unfolded Fuma Shuriken. The missing-nin jumped so he was positioned in a better angle and grabbed the weapon by the hole in the center. Kabuto landed and revealed why he grabbed Iruka's weapon. As soon as he reached the ground, Genma pulled the chain of his weapon, so that the blade would attack Kabuto from his blind spot, but he anticipated the move and slightly turned, using the Fuma Shuriken to block the kama.

While Kabuto remained in that position, Anko rushed to attempt a downward slash with her sword. The researcher pushed the shuriken in his hand, forcing the blade of the kusarigama to block the chokuto's slicing attack. Anko smirked and turned into a puff of smoke, just before the weight of the kusarigama passed by Kabuto and the chain wrapped him together with its blade and the shuriken. Immobilized, Kabuto could do nothing to avoid the new shuriken launched by Iruka but, at the last second, an ANBU corpse erupted from the ground and pushed Kabuto out of the way.

"Son of a...when did he do that?" Genma shouted, as he saw the staggering corpse helping his summoner in getting rid of the chains. Then, a hand erupted from the ground and grabbed Genma's right leg. A second later, three pairs of hands were trying to pull him underground, while two other pairs did the same to Iruka. "How many does he have under his control?"

**Flashback**

Kabuto was sent into the air by Anko's backflip kick and she followed him with a jump, hitting half a dozen rising kicks into his chest and a spinning backfist that Kabuto blocked with his arm. Since the blow didn't have the full impact, Kabuto was able to land in a proper way to avoid damage, his right hand pressed into the ground, so he could stand up immediately afterwards.

**End of Flashback**

_"At that time, I was able to insert the scroll into the ground. I almost forgot I could still use it." _Kabuto thought as he stood. _"Earth Style Resurrection Jutsu: Hands of the Forgotten...the scroll summons a large number of corpses underground. Then, with the earth chakra released by the scroll summoning, the soil reacts to the vibrations caused by my opponent's steps and keeps on moving, so that the corpses are always below them. To finish, I activate my Dead Soul Jutsu, so they can erupt and bring my enemies down with them. A jutsu hard to prepare but worth the effort..."_

"Hidden Shadow Snakes" Anko shouted and released snakes from her sleeves in a enough number to take care of all the arms that surrounded Genma and Iruka. The corpses didn't quit however, as they crawled out of the ground and limped towards the three Konoha-nin, their arms covered in snakes. "You guys made me lose the chance to strike Kabuto, so you take care of them!"

"Gee, thanks..." Genma mumbled but Anko didn't listen, as she was already rushing towards the army of corpses. An acrobatic jump was enough to pass by them and she continued in Kabuto's direction, her sword in hand.

_"That's one of Kusanagi's replicas, like the one Sasuke-kun uses...the differences reside in the handle and in the lack of abilities. However, the blade has a near identical shape and it's way sharper than regular blades." _Kabuto recognized the Grass Cutter resembling chokuto, while he avoided the first combination of slashing attacks. Anko attempted a spinning leg sweep, but Kabuto jumped over and drew a kunai while in midair. Even so, he wasn't fast enough to use it to block Anko's spinning axe kick. The blow connected and the snake mistress followed by bringing down her sword on her groggy adversary.

"Shit!" Anko cursed as soon as the deceased ANBU's katana blocked the fake Kusanagi. Kabuto, having shifted the position of the kunai in his hands, thrusted it in the direction of Anko's exposed stomach. The Tokubetsu Jounin used her left leg to push Kabuto's thrusting arm away and, at the same time, released her left hand from the black handle of the chokuto, stretching it in Kabuto's direction. "Hidden Shadow Snakes"

"Chakra Scalpel" Kabuto intoned at the same time, surrounding his kunai with a chakra blade strong enough to cut through the snakes. The dead ANBU, using his katana, pushed the chokuto out of Anko's hands, something that caused her to grin. The remaining snakes came out of the short sleeves of Anko's mesh suit, distracting Kabuto long enough for her to press her hand into the top of the corpse's head.

"Fire Style: Hand of Flames" Anko playfully stated, the flames that came from her hand enveloping the corpse's body, reducing it to ashes.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Jutsu" A dragon emerged from the mud river Iruka had created earlier, this one being made of both mud and stone. The Chunin directed the dragon towards the army of dead souls, the creature capturing all of them in its mouth before dragging them across the ground below. Sure that they were finished, Iruka ordered his creation to aim its next attack towards Kabuto.

_"This will have to work..." _Kabuto thought, his body not moving one step. Instead, a purple flame appeared in the tip of each of the fingers of his left hand, before he launched them towards the charging dragon. "Five Pronged Seal"

"Darn it..." Iruka mumbled, as the dragon crumbled into the ground, only one meter away from Kabuto.

_"I've improved the seal to the point I can launch it. Still, it has to be at a really short distance, since I can't change its trajectory. Plus, I was only able to form the seal because the dragon was slow to reach me." _Kabuto frowned at his left hand. _"I never thought it would take so long to form one so weak as this one was. I almost didn't make it...However, I was able to disrupt the chakra that covered the dragon and Iruka lost control over it."_

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bomb" Genma spat out a long, hot stream of flames towards Kabuto, who only had time to use the Body Flicker Jutsu to gain some meters. As he stopped, Iruka immediately erupted from underground, on Kabuto's right side, and tried to hit a rising uppercut but the spy dodged. Anko soon joined and Kabuto was pushed back with an array of punches and kicks delivered by both. The man who had served Orochimaru dodged or blocked the blows, until he was hit by a kick from Anko to the gut and a punch to the face from Iruka, both performed at the same time. As the medic got back on his knees, Anko and Iruka drew a kunai each.

"Heaven's Blessing Combination" Both shouted before throwing their kunais into the sky. Kabuto instinctively looked up and was blinded by the sunlight. This prevented Kabuto from seeing Genma, who had jumped in front of the sun so he couldn't be seen.

"Senbon Shadow Clone Jutsu" Genma spat the senbon in his mouth towards Kabuto and the senbon multiplied to many dozens, before many of them stabbed the scientist's left arm. _"He guessed what was about to happen! If he hadn't moved, his face and chest would be covered in senbons..."_

_"Curses! Orochimaru's regeneration skills aren't working at 100% yet! I have to heal my arm, or I won't be able to use jutsus..." _Kabuto's right hand started to glow green and he pressed it slightly on his arm. One second after, he was sent flying by another of Iruka's punches.

"Fire Style: Hand of Flames" As soon as he landed on the ground, Anko performed the hand seals and shoot another flame stream from her right hand. Kabuto got up quickly however and performed a set of seals as well.

"Water Style: Hand of Waves" A water stream came from Kabuto's right hand and clashed with Anko's jutsu.

"How could he heal so fast?" Iruka shouted.

_"Idiot! I sent a pulse of chakra that had the same effect as a normal two minutes-long healing." _Kabuto grinned for a second, before frowning again. Neither of the jutsus had the advantage. Then, Genma appeared behind him with a pair of senbons on his hand but Kabuto blocked them with a dissection blade while struggling to mantain his Water Style jutsu working. _"They work too damn well together! I guess I don't have a choice..." _Kabuto thought. He jumped out of the way and Genma did the same to avoid the incoming stream of flames. Kabuto performed a new set of seals and slammed both hands on the ground, taking advantage of the tattoo on his left arm being already drenched in blood. "Summoning Jutsu"

_"Oh fuck!" _The same thought crossed the minds of Iruka and Genma. A gigantic, purple snake towered in front of them.

_"It's just like Orochimaru's Manda!" _Anko thought while she held her left hand in pain. The light effects of the painkiller pill she had ingested were vanishing. The snake had black rings running down its body, fangs disposed in a way similar to a constrictor's and green eyes. The most notable difference between this snake and Manda, besides the fact this one was a bit smaller, was that it had two horn-like prostrusions on its head, instead of Manda's four.

"Why did you call me here, Kabuto? I think you remember our deal!" The snake furiously hissed to the man on the top of its head.

"Unfortunately Muda, if you want to avenge Manda, you'll have to help me here." Kabuto carefully adressed the snake.

"You better find him quickly before I lose my patience!" Muda slithered towards the Konoha shinobi and slammed its body to the ground, trying to crush them. Kabuto then jumped from its head and hit a kick on Genma who was still in midair after jumping to avoid the huge snake. The assassination expert crashed through a tree and lost consciousness.

"Genma!" Iruka shouted before realizing that Muda was already targeting Anko. The Chunin rushed and pushed her out of the way, getting hit hard in the torso by Muda's tail.

"NO! IRUKA!" The horrified Anko screamed, as she saw Iruka's motionless body crashing to the ground in a very ankward position. She fell on her knees by his side and angrily pulled his vest, screaming his name but to no avail. Then, she lost all the color in her face. He wasn't breathing. Before she could do anything, she realized that Muda was coming to strike again. Her ankle had been twisted the moment Iruka pushed her away from the giant snake. Unable to stand, her body a wreck without the effect of the painkillers, her mind broken by seeing Iruka like that, Anko couldn't do anything else but to close her eyes and cross her arms in front of her body, in a useless attempt to shield herself and her friend.

* * *

"Why are you here?" Konan questioned from above. She was standing on the tongue that served as overlook from the tallest tower of Amegakure. On the top of a smaller building in the other side of the street, stood a man wearing a black cloak and an orange mask.

"I'm just visiting an old friend, Konan." Madara answered and opened his arms in a motion that seemed like he wanted to hug her.

"You know very well that's not true. What do you want from me?" The new leader of Amegakure continued to question her former superior.

"I just want to talk with you, Konan. I'm here to tell you that I'm willing to accept you once again as a member of Akatsuki."

"And what if I say no?"

"And why would you do that? What was the reason for you to leave us Konan-chan?" Madara asked in his Tobi voice.

"Don't go Tobi on me, Madara!" Konan agressively shouted, angered by having Madara mocking her. "I only stayed for that long because of Nagato. Now there's no reason for me to continue there."

"So you won't reconsider?" Madara's voice turned back to normal.

"No Madara, I won't." Konan promptly answered.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I really didn't want to kill you."

* * *

**Next Chapter: -**

This chapter went a different way I had immagined, so I don't know how I'll write the next one. Therefore, I can't advance the title of the next chapter.

* * *

**Wikia**

1. Characters:

1.1 Kizu - Search in Narutopedia for Iwagakure Bodyguard. He's a bodyguard of Onoki in one of the meetings with the Kages.

1.2 Jadoku - The giant blue snake summoned by Anko in the Land of Sea Anime-only Arc.

1.3 Muda (OC) - A giant purple snake that highly resembles Manda and wants to avenge the latter's death.

2. Jutsu:

2.1 Space-Time Jutsu: Summoning Regression - This jutsu forces someone or something recently summoned to return to its original place. In other words, it forces the summon to be cancelled.

2.2 Water Style: Hand of Waves - Search in Narutopedia for Water Release: Water Wave Palm. It used to be called Water Release: Hand of Waves before being renamed and I like it better. The jutsu consists in emitting a continuous jet of water from one's palm to strike the opponent.

2.3 Fire Style: Hand of Flames - The same procedure as above but with fire.

2.4 Water Style: Serpent Stream - Search in Narutopedia for Water Release: Snake's Mouth. The name issue is the same as 2.2; It's basically a snake version of the Water Dragon Jutsu.

2.5 Earth Style Resurrection Jutsu: Hands of the Forgotten - The user inserts a scroll into the ground. When activated, a bunch of corpses will be summoned underground and a defined amount of earth chakra will be released from the formulas of the scroll. The chakra envelops the corpses and reacts to the vibrations caused by the steps of the enemy. The chakra forces the soil to change and move the corpses below them. The user will then activated the Dead Soul Jutsu, causing the corpses to erupt from the ground and pull the enemy below with them.

2.6 Earth Style: Earth Dragon Jutsu - Search in Narutopedia for Earth Release: Earth and Stone Dragon. The name issue is the same as 2.2 and 2.4; A dragon similar to the one from Water Dragon Jutsu, but composed of whatever the soil is made.

2.7 Heaven's Blessing Combination - A collaboration jutsu, commonly used by Hizashi Hyuga and his genin partners and that was passed by him to his students. One or two people will launch something to the air (normally kunais), causing the enemy to look up instinctively so they know what they're facing. By looking up, the enemy will be blinded by sunlight. Another member of the team that uses this jutsu, will jump into the air and capitalize on the sunlight to remain hidden and use a long-range attack.

-nawirama13


	16. Race to the Border

I've been having some problems lately. That's why I didn't update until now. Things are back on track, so I will try to make up to you by releasing three chapters until Sunday. This is the first.

* * *

Chapter 16 - Race to the Border

* * *

"Eheh, I'm starting to like Iwagakure! Hello lady!" Kankuro approached the kunoichi from Iwagakure, as soon as she and her partners arrived at the rendezvous point.

"Hmph, I don't like grown guys who still play with dolls." Kurotsuchi countered with a smirk.

"I'm starting to like the Iwagakure as well." Temari chuckled, causing Kankuro to glare at her.

"Hey! We don't have time for this." Baki interjected himself, as he predicted another argument between the siblings.

"Fine!" A furious Kankuro shouted, with Temari forcing herself to restrain her incoming laugh. "Can we just start searching for them?"

"If you can guarantee us that you won't jeopardize the mission because of your childish antics, then yes." Kankuro and Temari didn't take Ittan's words well, since we was being serious instead of joking like they first thought.

"Gosh, don't be like that Ittan. It's normal for siblings to have arguments." Kurotsuchi tried to make things easier.

"I'm just trying do my job the best way I can." Ittan explained why he was being so strict with the Suna Siblings. Kizu carefully remained in silence, since he didn't agree entirely with neither of his partners.

"Should we go then?" Kurotsuchi asked sweetly and everybody nodded. _"I should ditch them as soon as possible..."_

* * *

"Wolf Fang Over Fang" A huge double-headed wolf attacked, while Muda's eyes were being targeted by parasitic insects. Anko opened her eyes and saw the white wolf standing on top of the defeated purple snake. She and Iruka were surrounded by the members of Team Yamato and Team Guy.

"You better find a way to run Kabuto or I'll kill you myself!" Muda furiously hissed, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

_"This is getting difficult..." _Kabuto thought after seeing the numerical disadvantage he was in. The wolf transformed back to Kiba and Akamaru and then Yamato started to give orders. _"I'm still at a considerable distance from the border. My little adventure may cost me dearly..."_

"Tenten, Kiba, Sai, take them back to the village. Iruka and Genma need immediate medical care and Anko is also in pretty bad shape, so be quick."

"I'll fight." Anko refused Tenten's help, struggling to stand on her own.

"You've done your job, Anko-san. Let us take care of him with our fists of love. You just need to make sure your flames of youth keep on burning." Guy said with his nice guy pose.

"Geez..." Anko rolled her eyes in annoyance by hearing Guy's antics. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Are you doubting us, Anko?" Yamato asked with a smirk.

"Hmph, how could I, Mokuton no Tenzo?" Anko answered with a smirk of her own. She finally allowed Tenten to help her climb to the top of one of Sai's ink birds. The Root ANBU had already layed Iruka on top of a second bird and Kiba carried Genma to the back of Akamaru. "Be sure you don't rush into things."

"Thanks for the advice, Anko-san. Yosh!" Guy answered with another thumbs up, without realizing the intended irony in her words. The ink birds and the ninja dog left towards Konoha full speed ahead.

"Well, I've seen you in better shape." Yamato teased his opponent. "You seem to be a little pale, huh Kabuto?"

"You're wrong my friend. I'm better than ever." Kabuto didn't show to be worried and picked up another scroll.

"You were not the only one who changed." Neji stated, before dropping into the Gentle Fist stance, his Byakugan active.

"Should we test it then?" Kabuto waved the scroll and shouted. "Dead Soul Jutsu"

"Oh, this is disappointing!" Lee seemed upset when he saw the three corpses standing in front of them.

"It is indeed." Shino agreed with Guy's hot-blooded student. The Aburame clan member spread his arms, while Lee assumed the Strong Fist stance. The bodies rushed towards the Konoha shinobi but...

"Leaf Gale" Lee hit a spinning leg sweep on one of the bodies, making him twirl in midair. While his "opponent" was in a precarious situation, Lee hit him with two consecutive spinning back kicks, before making a somersault and hitting an axe kick to the dead's stomach, emitting a light of youthful energy. "Springtime of Youth Full Power!"

"Slow, clumsy and predictable." Shino analyzed the corpse's attacking pattern. The host of parasitic insects moved one step away and hit him with a backfist to the jaw. As the corpse lost its balance, Shino lifted his arms, releasing thousands of insects from his sleeves. When the dead regained a stable stance, he had numerous spheres of insects waiting for him in the sky. Shino lowered his arms and the spheres fell against the body, pressing it against the ground, with the insects taking turns at sucking the chakra that made him move. "Parasitic Insects: Hailstorm"

"Palm Heel Strike" Neji grabbed the corpse's wrist and lifted his arm, before delivering a well-placed rising palm strike to his torso, sending him into midair. As the dead was falling, Neji focused his attention on the small concentration of Kabuto's chakra located in the corpse's chest. With a double palm strike to the helpless body, Neji got rid of that chakra, making sure it didn't move again. "Is that all?"

_"Not bad..." _Kabuto stared at the three young men with an impressed look in his face. "_It was a mistake to summon Muda. I don't have enough chakra to defeat all of them. I have to get out of here."_

"Boys, that's enough. Let me and Yamato-san make him surrender to the influence of justice." Guy stepped forward.

"Oh, come on, Guy-sensei! We didn't even warm up yet!" Lee tried to convince his mentor to let them take care of Kabuto.

"I actually agree with Lee this one time, Guy-sensei." Neji supported Lee's point and Shino also nodded in agreement.

"Eh, you should let the boys fight. I think they're already stronger than you." Kabuto kept the argument going on, so he could gain a little bit more time.

"You're being a bit overconfident boys." Yamato told them. "Even though we made some interesting discoveries about his powers, he's still Kabuto."

"Tenzo, my youthful friend, let's work him out until he can't even move!" Guy suggested as he assumed his Strong Fist stance.

"It's a shame that Hayate isn't here with us anymore. He would love a team reunion." Tenzo stated while he assumed a fighting stance of his own.

"Oh, a Tiger Fist stance? So it's true that some secrets were leaked from the old Kirigakure, huh?" Kabuto was genuinely surprised by seeing the stance. At the same time, the blood that was slowly dripping from his left arm finally covered the snake contract tattoo. "About damn time! Summoning Jutsu"

"I knew those snakes would be a problem." Yamato dropped his stance, as he recognized the blue snake summoned by Kabuto.

"Delay them!" Kabuto ordered the summoned creature, before fleeing from the battlefield.

"He's getting away!" Lee shouted before rushing forward. The snake slithered in front of him, blocking the path. "It seems I'll have to take care of you first. Leaf Whirl..."

"Don't do it, Lee!" Guy intercepted his student and pushed him out of the way.

"Guy-sensei?"

"This is one of Anko-san's favourite snakes, Jadoku. She isn't like the other snake summonings. Look at her." Guy ordered his student who promptly did so. The snake seemed to be anguished by having to serve Kabuto, the man she had attempted to devour some good minutes before. "We should not hurt something or someone that is forced to fight because of a summoning contract."

"So what should we do?" Lee questioned.

"I will stop her with my Wood Style! You guys go ahead!" Yamato ordered and performed a hand seal. Many pillars of wood erupted from the ground to bind Jadoku but the snake slithered away from them. However, the distraction was enough for Lee, Neji and Guy to pass by the snake with their great speed, while Shino used a platform of parasitic insects to pass him over the snake.

* * *

"DAMN IT!" The Raikage shouted before crushing his office's door. After losing his left arm in the battle against Sasuke, he was having a hard time to adapt to his new reality.

"Please calm down, Raikage-sama. I know it's hard but you'll get used to it." Shi entered the office with Darui following him. "You still need to decide who you're sending to find Sasuke."

"Nobody! I'll take care of that punk myself!" The Raikage shouted. "Since Bee is the priority, I want half of the Chunins and everyone above searching for him. That includes the Guardians of Kumogakure, the Kinkaku Force and have Motoi leading a team of Barrier Ninjutsu specialists. He may try to escape them. You two will leave with Sabu. If you meet Bee, I want Sabu to make him an offer to be his singing teacher. That may work."

"That's a fine search team boss, but you really should send someone to find Akatsuki." Ē glared to Darui for interrupting him, but the latter calmly continued. "The village needs their Raikage with it and besides you're in no condition to fight at this point."

"Grrr...Fine! Tell Team Samui that they will be leaving to find that bastard! Actually...have Atsui going too. They may need some firepower..."

"Eheh, that was a good one! Atsui and firepower..." Darui started laughing but stopped as he felt a slight amount of killing intent coming from Ē. Shi slapped his own forehead. "Sorry, boss. Please continue..."

"As I was saying...tell them that when they find him they are to report to me immediately so I can kill him myself."

"Very well, Raikage-sama." Shi bowed and Darui sighed in relief before leaving.

"Hey Shi, can you go ask Mabui for another door? I already went there twice today..." Darui rubbed the back of his head and this time it was Shi who sighed.

* * *

_"Darn it!" _Kabuto cursed as Lee and Guy stepped in front of him. As he tried to turn back, Neji appeared. _"They're too fast!"_

"Surrender, Kabuto-kun. There's no way your degenerated youth will be a match for our unmatchable fists of justice." Guy tried to convince Kabuto.

"A match for unmatchable? Kami, you're stupid." Kabuto shook his head and almost laughed. Neji approached him from his right side, so Kabuto tried a chakra scalpel backslash, but Neji ducked out and thrusted his palm towards his opponent's right shoulder. The medic-nin took a step back to avoid the blow but, by doing so, he didn't have enough time to avoid the next attack.

"Eight Trigrams: Heavenly Spin" Neji intoned and spun, a dome of swirling chakra sending Kabuto flying away.

"Dynamic Entry" Lee roared and delivered a jumping high kick to the lower back of the midair Kabuto who could do nothing to counter. The impact of the kick sent Kabuto towards the awaiting Guy, who thrusted his fist into his stomach. Kabuto's eyes were never so wide. He coughed violently and drooled, while his body hanged over Might Guy's right forearm.

"I don't like to use cliches and corny sentences...but I told you so." Guy pushed Kabuto slightly and delivered a powerful uppercut to Kabuto's jaw, followed by a elbow strike into his chest with Guy using the other arm as support. "Leaf Rock Destroyer"

"It's over. Don't you think, Neji-kun?" Lee asked, after seeing the way Kabuto landed on the ground. Neji however, was staring to Guy-sensei with a very strange look on his face. "Neji-kun?"

_"Doesn't like to use cliches? Doesn't like to say corny things? Doesn't...doesn't he have the slightest notion of how he is?" _Neji thought, his mouth slightly opened. When Guy noticed this, a thumbs up and sparkling teeth followed, causing Neji to sweatdrop.

"This...ain't over yet..." Kabuto was panting heavily as he spoke. While the corpse summoner rolled to his belly, another figure approached.

"I offered myself to make part of the team that was supposed to fight you. Why did I do that?" Shino fixed his glasses as he spoke. "Because my techniques are better suited to capture my opponents than Tenten's."

"You guys sure did good..." Kabuto complimented his opponents, after seeing that the ground surrounding him was covered by kikaichu. "Still...I have a last summoning to make."

"You won't have the time." Shino informed his opponent. "The moment you try to perform the summoning, you'll have your body covered by my insects."

"Eheheh, what if I already did it?" Kabuto chuckled and then, to every Konoha shinobi's shock, a giant black-coloured snake erupted from the ground and swallowed Kabuto.

"A worm snake?" Guy recognized the type of reptile in front of him.

"I can't see its chakra signature nor Kabuto's! Stop it before it goes back underground!" Neji warned his partners. Lee was too far away to reach the fast burrower and Guy missed his Dynamic Entry. Shino tried to cover the reptile with his insects but the snake returned underground before they could reach him. "Damn it..."

"Can't you see him at all, Neji?" Guy worriedly asked.

"No! It must be able to create a barrier around itself to hide its own chakra and the chakra of what it swallows! I can't follow it!" Neji angrily explained.

"My insects will follow it through the tunnel." Shino was still calm, but he became a bit tense a couple of seconds later. "It's even faster underground. My insects can't reach it."

"But they should be able to tell you the way he's taking by going through the tunnel, right?" Lee offered a new possibility. "Then we'll follow him from above."

"If he comes out of the ground at the place he's going to hide, I'll know his hideout. If he comes out before, he won't use his burrower any longer, so Neji will be able to track him with the Byakugan." Shino concluded. "It's a good idea."

"No, it isn't..." The two Chunin turned to Neji who had a deep frown on his face. "He'll only erupt when he's close enough of his hideout, which will be outside the Land of Fire. If he erupts in the Land of Sound, like it's expected, it will be fine, but if he erupts in another country..."

"We can't enter other countries without an authorization. The country in question has to agree that we continue this mission on their borders. Otherwise, it will be considered a declaration of war." Guy shared the same frown as Neji. "Delivery, escort and messenger missions are different than tracking missions like this one, since it will likely involve a shinobi battle in their territory. There are many factors. We can't proceed unless he's going to Otogakure, since theorically Kabuto is their leader."

"Shino-kun, please tell me he is going towards the Land of Sound." Lee and the others turned their attention to Shino, who had his left ear touching the ground. Shortly after, Yamato reached them.

"I've taken care of Jadoku. She's dispersed already." Yamato informed. "What about Kabuto?"

"Land of Hot Water..." Shino suddenly spoke. "We lost him."

* * *

"Ahahah...I almost didn't make it." Kabuto layed inside his worm snake, battered and bruised. "They wouldn't dare to follow me into another country. I'll make a little detour and then return to Otogakure." Kabuto chuckled and slowly picked up a scroll. "Just this little thing is worth the beating I took. Orochimaru-sama...I'll be stronger than you. Just you see."

* * *

"Has any of you fought an Akatsuki before?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"Only Kankuro here. He fought Sasori of the Red Sand but got his ass kicked." Temari said and chuckled.

"At least, I did something to save Gaara!" Kankuro furiously shouted to his older sister. "If it wasn't for me, Naruto and the others couldn't find Sasori and that bastard Deidara!" Kurotsuchi suddenly turned and hit a hard right hook to Kankuro's face.

"Don't you ever again say Deidara's name or I'll kill you!" Kurotsuchi shouted, pure killing intent coming from her eyes. Kankuro slowly stood and started to chuckle.

"Deidara..." Kankuro mockingly whispered. The kunoichi from Iwa ran towards the puppet user and hit him with a left roundhouse to the face. Before she could continue her assault, Temari stepped between both of them.

"If you know him, then you should know he was a member of Akatsuki. Not only that, he was also the one that kidnapped Gaara."

"The hell with that! At least your brother is alive, while mine his dead!" Kurotsuchi yelled, tears forming in her eyes.

"He was your brother?" The surprised Temari asked.

"She was referring to Han, the former..."

"What does it matter, Ittan?" Kizu interrupted his partner. "She'll only answer if she wants to, but there's no point in lying to protect Tsuchikage-sama's reputation. Deidara tarnished his own name, not the Tsuchikage's nor Kurotsuchi's."

"I have...had three brothers. Akatsuchi is my younger half brother, Deidara was my older half brother and Han was my only full brother and the oldest of us four. It's too much of a story for now..."

"Then tell us later if you still want to. Kurotsuchi, are you willing to work with us or should we take you to our village for treason?" Baki interrupted, just before a hawk landed on his shoulder to deliver a message.

"Treason? Are you insane?" Ittan furiously shouted, but Baki continued to calmly read the piece of paper.

"She did attack one of ours after all." Baki finally looked up and showed the message to the others. "We still need to find a team of Konoha ANBU that are nearby, so they can return to Konoha with the guarantee that someone is still searching in this area."

"Fine by me." Kurotsuchi wiped her tears and after awhile all of them agreed to resume their trip.

"You hit like a girl." Kankuro provoked Kurotsuchi with a grin. _"That bitch is good. If she betrays us we may have some trouble."_

"Oh shut up Kankuro!" Temari shouted to her annoying brother. _"Even though I love to see Kankuro getting his ass kicked, she could be a problem. I need to keep an eye on her..."_

"At least, you get hit like a man and ask for more." Kurotsuchi smirked, causing Kankuro to stare at her surprised before his grin returned.

* * *

"Oh, look who it is!" Naruto pointed to the small figure that landed by their side.

"Hey guys, Kakashi says it's time to rest." A ninken said after reaching Team Nawirama.

"Ah, you must be Pakkun. Sorry for the trouble little guy." Nawirama said with a smile.

"Don't worry, it's part of our job. See you later." Pakkun disappeared. Since the teams were moving close to eachother, Nawirama and Kakashi decided to send him between them in order to communicate.

"We'll camp here guys." Nawirama opened a scroll and all the items needed appeared. "Naruto and I will take care of this. Would you two go to find some water?"

"Sure thing, Nawirama-sensei." Sakura winked before pulling Hinata to come with her.

"Not sensei..." Nawirama groaned.

* * *

"So Hinata..." Sakura and Hinata found the water they needed and were starting to go back to the tents when Sakura spoke. "Have you been talking with Naruto?"

"Wha..Aah!" Hinata immediately blushed and tripped on the root of a tree, almost letting her bucket fall. "W-well, we talked y-yesterday."

"Uh, when?" Sakura's curiosity suddenly grew. _"We arrived at the Konoha 11 meeting at sunset, so when did they talk?"_

"A-after our me-meeting." Hinata stuttered.

"Really? About what?"

"N-nothing." Hinata turned beet red. "I fainted when he called me Hinata-chan..." Sakura rolled her eyes. She knew Hinata was shy but sometimes it was too much to believe.

"But it was almost evening. He didn't leave you there alone did he?"

"No, he took me to his place." Hinata's face was covered by yet another layer of red. _"Why can't I keep things to myself?" _She thought as Sakura stopped and stared at her in desbelief. She threw her bucket to the air and smashed her knuckles furiously.

"He did what? I'll punch a hole through his head! That baka won't take advantage of you ever again!" Sakura shouted with blank eyes and an angry look on her face.

"N-no Sakura-san!" Hinata pleeded to her teammate. "Naruto-kun was only trying to help. He didn't do anything disrespectful to me. He just took care of me."

"Uh, the knucklehead taking care of someone? Really?" Sakura doubtfully blinked. "_Well, he really cares and respects her. Who would think that Naruto would turn out like this?" _Sakura thought in amazement. "Sorry Hinata, I won't hit him..._yet. _So, what did you two do then?"

"H-he brought me dinner to bed and then we went to a place with an amazing view of the village." Hinata was once again blushing by remembering everything they did last night.

_"Why didn't that baka told me about this? I guess I have to hit him after all..." _Sakura thought to herself. "So it was a date?"

"N-no, no-not really. We just went there and..." Hinata stopped and put both hands on her mouth.

"And what?" Sakura's eyes widened with curiosity.

"A-and h-he told me that that h-he, he..." Hinata was gasping for air.

"Calm down Hinata, take long breaths." Sakura advised. _"C'mon I want to know..."_

"H-he told me that he thinks he likes me and, and wants to know me better to, to be sure." Hinata said, staring down embarassed.

_"The baka already made a move? He's really putting everything he has in this."_ Sakura was truly amazed. "And how did you react Hinata?"

"I...I fainted again." Hinata said before hiding her face in her hands. A sweatdrop appeared in the back of Sakura's head.

_"Oh boy..." _Sakura then understood something. "Wait! Did he take you back to his place again?" Hinata nodded, her face still hidden. "He's so dead..."

"No, don't hurt him!" Hinata grabbed Sakura's arm firmly, much to the latter's shock. "He put me on his bed and went to sleep on the couch. I woke up and was about to leave when he offered to take me home but I refused because he needed to rest. He didn't do anything wrong so don't dare to hurt him." Hinata stopped and stared down ashamed of what she did. "I-I'm sorry Sakura-san."

_"What was this?"_ Sakura was shocked. She never saw Hinata angry like that. In fact, Sakura had never seen her angry and from what she saw, she thought it was enough. "D-don't worry Hinata, you're right. I'm sorry as well. Uh...we better go. They're waiting."

* * *

"My Paper Angel Jutsu...is over..." Konan was having a hard time breathing, due to the effort she put in to defeat Madara. There was a lot of smoke in the air, a result of the enormous explosion caused by her sea of 600 billion exploding tags. She fell on her knees, her body almost completely drained of chakra. She was so tired that she didn't notice the swirl pattern slowly appearing behind her. "I didn't think...it would take this much but...but now...Madara has to be..."

"Dead?" A completely unscathed Madara whispered at her ear.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Under the Crescent Moon

**Wikia**

1. Jutsu:

1.1 Leaf Rock Destroyer - Original name is Leaf Rock Destroying Rise, changed it because its quite weird.

1.2 Parasitic Insects: Hailstorm - Search in Narutopedia for Parasitic Destruction Insect Hail. It used to be called Parasitic Insects: Hailstorm before being renamed and I like it better. The jutsu consists in gathering many spheres of insects that rain down on the opponent to strike him and drain his chakra. The jutsu ends with a last and much bigger sphere, but Shino didn't use it in this chapter because he didn't feel it was needed.

1.3 Tiger Fist - A fighting style like the Strong Fist and Gentle Fist. Its origins come from the old Kirigakure. How Yamato learned it is unknown.

-Nawirama13


	17. Under the Crescent Moon

Chapter 17 - Under the Crescent Moon

* * *

"Oh, Tobi is back!" White Zetsu remarked, as he saw his boss coming out of the swirling pattern. "You're alone?"

"I am. Konan didn't accept my proposal. Still, Amegakure is now ours again." Madara announced.

**"I see."** Black Zetsu said, before taking his attention back to the herbal medicine he was preparing. **"I should be done in a moment."**

"Actually, you should be the one to deliver that." Madara told to his second in command. "They'll believe it to be real if you're the one to deliver it."

**"Perhaps. The way you made your proposal should have scared her. You know, hitting her and all..."** Black Zetsu remembered. **"Speaking of which, how's your new arm?"**

"Just fine. You did a good job." Madara complimented Zetsu, while he stretched his new left arm, the one Zetsu made for him after the Raikage got rid of the old one. The plant-looking shinobi closed the medicine pot and nodded to Madara. "Ok, time to go. I want you to find me target number 3."

"Number 3, huh?" White Zetsu let out a devious smirk. "Are you intending to make a harem, Tobi?"

**"Tell me you didn't just say that..."** Black Zetsu mumbled.

"Ahah, while it's a quite suggestive idea, I don't intend to do that." Madara didn't seem upset by Zetsu's remark. They walked out of the Mountain's Graveyard, until they reached the only tree in a four mile radius. "Do it."

**"Hai."** Zetsu approached the tree and his black half merged with it, leaving the white part outside.

"I hate this! How come I'm always hanging outside?" White Zetsu complained.

**"Because this is my ability. Not yours."** Black Zetsu answered in a more aggressive tone he expected. With the white half mumbling about how unfair it was, the black half focused on the land, until he found Madara's target. **"In the border of the Land of Fire with the Land of Wind, 10 miles south from the Land of Grass."**

"Good. As expected from you Zetsu. I'll be leaving then." Madara complimented Zetsu once again, while the black half came out of the tree and before the swirling pattern appeared again. "When I come back, I expect her to be waiting for us."

**"Yes, Madara-sama."** Black Zetsu forced the white one to bow, while Madara disappeared.

"Damn it! I hate when you do that!" White Zetsu started to complain again, causing his other half to sigh.

* * *

Naruto was staring to where the girls went. They had left for awhile and he was feeling nervous. He wanted to speak with Hinata but didn't know what to say. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up, seeing Nawirama by his side.

"They're girls. They always take a long time doing what they do." Nawirama told Naruto, before sitting by his side. The only Genin of the team seemed to be even more upset since Nawirama's arrival. "You can talk to me if you want to. Keeping things to yourself isn't going to help."

"I'm sorry Nawirama-taichou. I shouldn't have doubted what you said earlier." Naruto said while looking down, feeling worse as he remembered how he doubted Nawirama earlier.

**Flashback**

"Sorry, I'm late." Kakashi, with his characteristic eye smile, rubbed the back of his head as he arrived to the meeting point. "There was this old lady..."

"Liar!" Sakura and Naruto both shouted, their eyes blank and two accusatory fingers pointed towards Kakashi.

"Geez, too loud." Shikamaru mumbled, as he felt the start of a headache.

"I, well, I think it's nice of Kakashi-sensei to help an elder." The innocent Hinata tried to defend Kakashi, but Sakura started waving her hand frenetically.

"Wrong! I bet he was reading one of those perverted books of Jiraiya-sama!" Sakura accurately threw her words, causing Kakashi to sweatdrop.

_"Darn, there goes my reputation..." _Kakashi thought as he saw Hinata blushing and putting her hands in front of her mouth, while Sakura explained the contents of the books.

"Hey guys, sorry." Nawirama waved as he arrived. In fact, he was the last one to reach the front gates. "There was this old lady..."

"Don't pull Kakashi-sensei on us Nawirama-taichou! There's no old lady!"

"In fact there is, Naruto." The surprised Nawirama answered. "I was visiting mom."

**End of Flashback**

"Oh, don't worry about that Naruto-kun. I know you like my mother a lot and I take no offense about what you said, but you have to admit that she's an old lady. A very old one by the way." Naruto chuckled by hearing Tsunade's son talking about her like that. If she ever dreamed...

_"He seems pretty sociable now that he isn't trying to kill me..." _Naruto thought. "How is she?"

"I went there with Shizune in the morning. That's why I was the last to reach Shikaku's office. She says that mom's stable and that her chances are very good." Naruto seemed relieved to hear that and smiled to his team leader. "I went back there after lunch and once again lost track of time."

"I'm glad to hear that, Nawirama-taichou. I really miss baachan."

"Yeah, mom's great." Nawirama sighed and tried to look serious. "Naruto, stop with the taichou or sensei things. I don't like it. Just Nawirama, ok?"

"Ok, Nawirama-ta..." Naruto smiled before staring back to the place from where the two girls should be coming out.

"That wasn't the only thing troubling you, was it?" Nawirama stared to where Naruto was staring as well. "My senpais already told me about Hinata liking you and you seem to like her too, so, why don't you talk with her about it?" Nawirama asked, causing Naruto to stare in shock to his taichou.

_"How does he know that I...oh wait, Sakura..."_ Naruto frowned before answering. "We talked yesterday. I told her that I want to know her better because I'm still not sure if what I feel is..." Nawirama nodded as he was speaking. He knew that this was hard for Naruto.

"I saw you didn't trade a word during the trip. I think you can't keep without talking with her. That will only hurt both of you." Naruto looked at him. He didn't want to hurt her so he agreed that he really should do that. "I'm not saying to talk about how you feel yet. Just talk. Ask things about her. When you feel ready, tell her."

"Eh, your advices on this are way better than Pervy Sage's. He would just tell me to go and..." Naruto stopped and blushed by remembering Jiraiya's 'mentoring speeches'.

"Pervy Sage, huh?" Nawirama pondered that for awhile. "Good nickname if it is for Jiraiya-sama..."

"Oh yeah, you knew him, right?"

"A bit. He was the one who gave me most intel about the village. He even taught me one thing or two."

"You know Nawirama, the first time we met, something was telling me that I shouldn't fight you and now I know why. Thank you, you're great." Nawirama opened his mouth for a second and looked down before answering.

"I'm here always you need to talk kid." Nawirama assured and they both traded a similar silly grin. Nawirama then put both hands behind his head and let himself fall back into the grass. "Geez, Shikaku's right."

"About what?"

"Women are troublesome...I just asked for some water." Nawirama sighed and Naruto laughed for a long while, something that made Nawirama a lot happier.

* * *

"Nothing, huh?" The disappointed Shikaku let himself fall into his chair.

"Ibiki tried everything, but he didn't say one word. That's saying something." Inoichi explained. "As for my Mind Reading Jutsu...well, he was prepared for it. His mind was completely closed. It's impossible for me to remove the barriers in it. He did a better job than Pain."

"That's really something." Shikaku rubbed his chin for a second, enough time for him to have an idea. He quickly snatched some files from the far left end of his table and started to search for a name. "I sent Choza and a large portion of my ANBU to the Root's underground base. We made Danzo's men surrender and they've all been imprisoned in special cells. Then, I sent some Hyugas and Inuzukas to search for evidence, but the only thing we could find was this."

"That's bad. We can only judge him for what he did at the summit, then." Inoichi stated before looking into the files. "The names of Danzo's men?"

"Every single one. We confirmed." Shikaku nodded. "There were 10 men missing, besides the two that disappeared in the summit. The 10 should have been carrying out missions."

"Were? Did we find them already?" Inoichi questioned.

"Two were following Anko. She killed them when they attacked her. I suppose the others are going after Kabuto." The Sixth answered. "As for the two bodyguards, I've made a circle around their names."

"Torune Aburame and Fu...Yamanaka..." Inoichi mumbled the last name.

"You think it's possible for him to know a jutsu capable of blocking someone's mind the way it did to Danzo's?" Shikaku asked.

"I think there's something in the old Yamanaka scrolls that can." Inoichi answered with a confident grin. "I'll have to do some research, but when I find it, I'll be able to break the jutsu for sure. I'll start right now."

"I thrust you on this, Inoichi." Inoichi nodded and turned towards the door, but Shikaku interrupted him before he left. "Try to finish it by today. Tomorrow you and Ibiki will start interrogating the Root ANBUs."

_"Geez, what a drag..." _Inoichi couldn't believe he was going to have even more work. As he opened the door, Yamato and Guy were standing in front of him. "Good luck. Perhaps you'll only have an A-Rank mission after this meeting."

"What was that about?" Guy asked to his partner who shook his head.

"Beats me." Yamato said before knocking on the already opened door. "May we, Hokage-sama?"

"Come in." Shikaku quickly put the Root documents aside and anxiously stood. "I know Anko was been brought back safely, along with Iruka and Genma. What about Kabuto?"

"We...we lost him, Hokage-sama." Yamato nervously informed his village leader, who seemed disappointed. "He summoned a chakra-suppressing worm snake, that was too fast for us too follow. He crossed the border with the Land of Hot Water and..."

"You couldn't follow him, because Kabuto isn't being hunted by the Land of Hot Water, so you couldn't enter their territory." Shikaku concluded and sighed. "I don't know why Kabuto isn't considered a S-rank criminal yet. With all the Akatsuki business going on, it will be difficult, but I'll work on that. Once he's considered one, we'll be able to search for him in any country."

"Take your time Hokage-sama." Yamato spoke. "Kabuto is not much of a threat."

**Flashback**

"Fire Style: Hand of Flames" As soon as Kabuto landed on the ground, Anko performed the hand seals and shoot another flame stream from her right hand. Kabuto got up quickly however and performed a set of seals as well.

"Water Style: Hand of Waves" A water stream came from Kabuto's right hand and clashed with Anko's jutsu. Neither of the jutsus had the advantage. Then, Genma appeared behind him with a pair of senbons on his hand but Kabuto blocked them with a dissection blade while struggling to mantain his Water Style jutsu working. Kabuto jumped out of the way and Genma did the same to avoid the incoming stream of flames.

**End of Flashback**

"According to Neji, who was watching the battle with his Byakugan, Kabuto's attacks were weaker and his movements slower than expected. At a moment, Anko's Hand of Flames defeated his Hand of Waves." Yamato continued.

"A Fire Style jutsu defeated a Water Style one of the same level..." Shikaku once again rubbed his chin.

"If it wasn't for the snakes, Anko-san and the others would win. For that matter, it was only because of the snakes that he escaped." Guy added. "We both spoke about this during the trip back to Konoha and we think his body must be rejecting Orochimaru's remains. Neji even said Kabuto's chakra and Orochimaru's chakra were too disturbed, like they were battling for superiority."

"His body rejecting the remains...There may be the chance we'll die because of them." Yamato further said.

"I don't think he's rejecting the remains." Shikaku said, after a minute of reflection.

"What?" Guy asked and traded a worried look with Yamato.

"I think this is just a phase of a transformation. The remains must be slowly taking over Kabuto. That will make him more like Orochimaru and stronger than ever. It just happens that until the transformation is over, he'll become weaker. Yet again, it's only until it's finished." Shikaku exposed his new theory. "Even if your theory is right, you forget that Kabuto is one of the greatest medical ninja alive. He will delay the side effects until he's completely transformed, or remove the remains before they come too dangerous for him. I think you underestimated him."

**Flashback**

"Boys, that's enough. Let me and Yamato-san make him surrender to the influence of justice." Guy stepped forward.

"Oh, come on, Guy-sensei! We didn't even warm up yet!" Lee tried to convince his mentor to let them take care of Kabuto.

"I actually agree with Lee this one time, Guy-sensei." Neji supported Lee's point and Shino also nodded in agreement.

"Eh, you should let the boys fight. I think they're already stronger than you." Kabuto kept the argument going on, so he had a little bit more time.

"You're being a bit overconfident boys." Yamato told them. "Even though we made some interesting discoveries about his powers, he's still Kabuto."

(...)

"About damn time! Summoning Jutsu" Kabuto shouted, as he slammed his palm into the ground to summon the huge blue snake, Jadoku.

**End of Flashback**

_"Damn...We should've been more serious. We wasted too much time." _Yamato frowned and stared to the floor. _"Not only the boys, Guy and I too, we were all too careless."_

"Kabuto, like his master, does many experiments in humans and don't think for a second that he will stop just because of this. Now was the right time to get him since he's weakened." Shikaku stood from his chair, seemingly worried.

"Hokage-sama, please don't blame this mistake on our students' flames of youth." Guy tried to reason with Shikaku. "It was my and Tenzo's fault that we let him escape."

"I won't punish anyone Guy. I just hope that I'm wrong..."

"Hokage-sama, I just came from the hospital." Shizune entered the office without knocking. "Anko has been treated and is already standing. Genma woke up but has to stay there for awhile until he completely recovers from his sprained back. The biggest problem is Iruka...Anko said that Iruka got hit hard in the torso by Muda's tail. Almost every rib was broken and some muscles ripped. He's out of danger now but he will have a hard time until he's completely recovered."

"Ouch, poor Iruka. I'll visit them later." Shikaku's worried look disappeared, a smile appearing in its place. _"I hope that by then he's awake to receive some good news."_

"Can we go, Hokage-sama? I would like to speak with my students and also to see Anko-san and Genma-san." Guy asked and Shikaku allowed. Both Jounins bowed and left towards the door, but Yamato stopped for a moment.

"I'm very sorry for what happened, Shikaku-sama."

"Don't worry, Yamato. The important thing is that those three are safe now." Shikaku said with a smile.

"Oh, we forgot about something." Yamato suddenly remembered what they found during their hunting trip. The Wood Style user delivered a pair of scrolls to the Rokudaime. "In these scrolls are sealed the corpses or what remained of 9 dead Root members that we found. Two were killed by Anko and the others by Kabuto."

"Anko had already told me about them...Thanks, Yamato." The ANBU slightly bowed before closing the door. Shikaku returned to his chair and sighed. "What a drag..."

"What's wrong, Hokage-sama?" Shizune worriedly asked.

"For a first day, it has been too troublesome already...Kabuto escaped, Inoichi couldn't find anything in Danzo's mind and, to make things worse, three Jounin were injured and 9 ANBUs were killed." Shikaku revealed. _"I wonder where is the 10th..."_

"Did you...did you receive any news from Team Kakashi and Team Nawirama?" Shizune tried to know.

"No Shizune, I didn't, but we'll know something by tomorrow." Shizune still looked worried. "Don't worry, you more than anyone should know how strong he is. They will all come back safe."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Shizune gave a weak smile and turned to walk out of the office.

* * *

"The sun has set. They should have been here by now." A male ANBU with a ponytail spoke to his team leader. He had a red coloured tattoo on his right upper arm.

"I know that Towa, but we can't leave until they find us." The leader, a woman with long purple hair, answered.

"Someone's coming." The other female ANBU, the one with long blond hair put together by six senbons, said. Shortly after, the teams from Suna and Iwa appeared in front of them.

"Sorry for the delay. We had some...trouble, before we started our mission." Ittan spoke and the two Sand Siblings didn't miss the jab of the Iwa Jounin.

_"That one is..." _The ANBU leader had her eyes focused on the man with red markings on his face. Seeing their leader's reaction, the other two ANBUs traded a worried look.

"Well, we should go back to Konoha then. We still have to report to Hokage-sama by tonight." Towa spoke instead of his captain, trying to hurry things up.

"Yes, you can now go back to...Ugh!" Baki was interrupted by a hard kick to the face from the ANBU leader. Neither Towa nor Komachi's eyes were able to follow her dash. She took off her mask and drew her sword. Yugao started to run towards Baki again but was stopped by Kankuro's chakra strings.

"Let me go!" Yugao shouted to the puppet master. "I'll kill you right here, Baki!"

"_This is my chance!" _Kurotsuchi took advantage of the situation and slowly walked away from the group.

"Who do you think you are to attack our team leader?" Temari demanded an answer.

"Who I am doesn't matter. Finally I'll be able to avenge Hayate Gekko, the man your leader killed the last time he was in Konoha!" Yugao's voice was almost to the point of being a screech.

_"The invasion of Konoha..." _Kankuro thought. "Sorry lady, but we can't..."

"Very well, you can kill me Yugao. Release her, Kankuro." Baki ordered, before letting himself fall to his knees, his head hanged down, waiting for the touch of Yugao's sword.

"Don't do this, Yugao." The female ANBU tried to reason with her leader.

"Shut up, Komachi! I've been waiting for this for too long!"

"I don't know what went on between you both, but this won't solve anything!" Kizu stepped forward.

"This will only create dissension between our villages." Ittan slightly bent, ready to slam his palm into the ground, so he could save Baki with a Earth Style jutsu.

"I won't release..." Kankuro was once again interrupted but this time by a scream that came from behind them. Everybody turned to see Madara Uchiha with a knocked out Kurotsuchi on his right shoulder.

"You!" Temari shouted before summoning her iron fan. "Give her back!"

"Aaah aah, I'm in no mood to fight! I just wanted to talk with Kuro-chan but she's too hot-headed like her brother Deidara-senpai!" Madara was jumping around in front of them, using his Tobi voice. Kankuro immediately activated a scroll and summoned the puppet with red hair that wore a white vestment. "Is that...? Ohoh, hey Sasori-senpai! Long time no see!"

"Secret Red Move: Machinery Triangles" Sasori's head dettached and the puppet launched triangle-shaped blades from its neck and palms but all passed through Madara's body. "Damn it!"

"Kankuro..." Temari whispered to call her brother. Komachi threw dozens of senbons but every one of them passed through Madara's body.

"Ahah, itchy itchy!" Tobi giggled without apparently noticing Towa and Kizu moving behind him. The tattoo on Towa's right arm was already spreading to the rest of his body, while Kizu was motioning for a sword slash.

"Chakra Flowing Tattoo: Drill" Red chakra leaked from the pattern in Towa's right arm and formed a large drill around it. Towa's piercing attack and Kizu's sword slash passed by Madara's body as well.

"Surprise!" Tobi hit a thrust kick in Kizu's jaw, sending him flying. Then, he it Towa in the jaw with his elbow and followed with a spinning kick that sent him some meters away as well. All of this was done with Kurotsuchi on his shoulder. By kicking Towa, the Akatsuki leader turned his back on all other shinobi. Suddenly, Tobi backflipped over the senbon threwn by Komachi. "Be careful ANBU-san, you could have hit Kuro-chan with your itchy itchy needles!"

"This is bigger than the two of us." Baki said as he saw Madara turning to them once more. "If we don't put our differences aside, then neither of us will leave this place alive. We'll have to team up."

"Grrr...this means nothing Baki!" Yugao said as she pointed her sword from Baki to the Akatsuki Leader. Baki stood by her side and prepared to fight him as well.

"We have to find a way to take her from him so I can attack with my Wind Style." Temari explained to her brother.

"It may just pass through him but it's our best option, right?" Kankuro asked and his sister nodded.

"Aahah Kuro-chan, Suna's big mean shinobi-san and Konoha's miss ANBU-san are getting mad at Tobi..." Tobi babbled as he put Deidara's sister on the ground. "Why? Isn't Tobi a good boy?"

"Is he really Madara Uchiha?" Komachi asked doubtfully.

"Don't let him fool you! He took out Towa with just one kick." Yugao remembered her fellow ANBU who nodded.

"Wind Style: Violent Wind Palm" Baki performed the seals and a gust of concentrated wind advanced towards Tobi who was struggling to make up a decision of how to counter until he started to dig a hole with his hands before hiding in there. "Tsk...He's hiding like a mole..."

"_So his style is Earth, huh?_" Yugao channeled her lightning chakra into her katana and started to run across the battlefield, dragging the blade across the ground. A big fissure opened and Tobi popped out of there.

"_Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu __is used by channeling earth chakra into the soil to change earth into sand so the user can dig it and hide in there." _Baki analyzed the jutsu used by Madara. "_With the field covered with earth chakra it was easy for Yugao to cut through it with her lightning chakra. _Wind Style: Blade of Wind" Baki gathered wind chakra around his right forearm before waving it, releasing the chakra in the form a huge blade of wind.

"Aahh! The powerful wind blade that can't be blocked! I'm done!" Tobi screamed in horror as Baki's jutsu was about to hit him. At the last second however, Tobi's body disappeared and the wind blade continued to move until it vanished. Tobi chuckled as he appeared some meters farther from Kurotsuchi. "Fooled ya!"

"Catch!" Yugao launched her lightning chakra enveloped katana like an harpoon but it also passed through the Akatsuki's body without hurting him.

"Right on!" Kankuro capitalized on Madara's distraction to sneak near the place where he had dropped Kurotsuchi. The puppet master used the long cable that Sasori had coiled around the pole in his stomach to pick the kunoichi. Two seconds after Yugao's katana had passed through Madara's body, the Akatsuki leader appeared to grab the cable with his left hand as it was about to reach Kurotsuchi. "No way!"

"_His jutsu is amazing!_ _It's like he can move at the speed of light!" _Temari thought in amazement but also fear.

"You've been testing my patience for too long." Everybody shivered as they noticed the change in their opponent's voice. Now, nobody doubted they were in the presence of the one Madara Uchiha. The swirling pattern appeared in Madara's right eye and started to suck Sasori's cable into it, pulling the puppet towards him. "I'll start with you, Monzaemon follower."

"Let it go Kankuro, or you'll be sucked too!" Temari worriedly shouted to her brother.

"I...I can hold...Aahh!" The whirl pattern started to spin faster and pulled Sasori by its cable and Kankuro along with it. Yugao rushed forward and thrusted the lightning surge in her hand to break the cable, stopping Kankuro and Sasori from certain doom. As they were getting up, Madara kicked Yugao in the gut, sending her flying against a tree. Then, he picked Sasori by its left wrist and swung it against the puppet user, knocking him back. Komachi started to pick more senbons from her hair but Madara appeared in front of her and punched her hard in the gut, knocking her also.

"Damn it! Wind Style: Whirlwind Fist" Baki shouted and punched in Madara's direction, releasing a compressed whirlwind towards him.

"You were doubting I was Madara Uchiha, weren't you? Then how about...Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu" Madara spat the fireball against the whirlwind and just before they connected, Ittan slammed his palm into the ground, causing the soil where he, Temari and Baki were standing to go upwards. The fireball turned into an enormous fire whirlwind that burned until it reached the natural wall raised by Ittan. That didn't stop Madara however, as he appeared in front of both men and grabbed them by their throats, lifting them into the air. "You can't do anything, can you girl?"

"You monster!" Temari shouted as she knew he was right. She couldn't attack as long as someone was near him and there was the chance she wouldn't hit him if she tried to. Baki and Ittan struggled to breathe until they fainted. Only then Madara dropped them. "I won't go down easily, Madara!" She shouted, but instead of coming in her direction, he was walking towards Kurotsuchi to pick her up.

"It would be a waste of time to both of us, girl. You know that. See ya!" Madara said before using his space-time jutsu to send himself and the Iwa kunoichi to the Mountain's Graveyard.

"_That...monster..." _Temari thought as she dropped to her knees and furiously punched the ground.

* * *

"I sure had some fun. I'll find the others tomorrow." Madara said, before putting Kurotsuchi in a bed. A figure in the shadows opened her eyes, her back layed against the wall. "Then, when all our new friends are gathered, we'll move to our new hideout."

* * *

Anko layed back on the chair with a bottle of sake on her right hand and a plate with her favourite dangos on her lap. For some strange reason, she was having a hard time swallowing the dangos and could only do it with the help of alchohol. She looked at the bottle for more but it was already empty.

She looked to the other side of the room. Genma was already sleeping. He tried to walk out of the bed when he learned that Kabuto escaped but his back was hurting too much. The nurses even threatned to knock him out if he didn't calm down.

Anko's left hand was all bandaged up as it was her torso. Her ankle was already recovered though. She didn't feel pain anymore, perhaps because of the alchohol excess, but she felt some itching in her belly that she was having a hard time trying to deal with.

In front of her, Iruka was sleeping peacefully. He had a hard time breathing earlier since that's a very hard thing to do with a broken rib and Muda had broken almost every single one of them. Anko thought that she should be the one in the bed instead of him, as she picked his hand.

"Why are you always doing this Iruka?" Anko whispered. A tear rolled down the face of the woman known as having a stone in the place of her heart.

* * *

"This is no good. How can I fight the Akatsuki without sleeping for two straight nights?" Naruto woke up only a few minutes after falling asleep and he couldn't do it again. The blond slowly stood and opened the tent carefully so he wouldn't wake Nawirama. After closing it, he stretched and put on his jacket. He stared at the crescent moon for awhile before a sneeze called his attention. He looked to his right side and saw Hinata laying against a tree and watching the stars. He stood there for awhile looking at her. She wasn't wearing her normal lavander jacket but pnly a black top over a short sleeved mail.

"Put this on or you'll get a cold." Hinata jumped as she wasn't expecting to hear his voice. She looked at him and saw him handing over his jacket.

"Oh! Th-thank you N-Naruto-kun." Hinata said while putting his jacket over her shoulders. She was so sure that everybody was already sleeping when she came out.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Naruto sat down against the tree.

"Y-yes, I mean no, I mean...I couldn't sleep..." Hinata answered in a clumsy way, causing Naruto to chuckle. She seated by his side and both stared to the stars for awhile. "I'm happy to see that you're feeling better. You were acting weird the entire trip."

"Yeah, I talked with Nawirama for awhile. He's great." Naruto turned to look at her at the same time she did, resulting in both blushing and Naruto rubbing the back of his head.

"Y-you can talk with me about what troubles you, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata shyly said while she played with her fingers.

"I don't want to bother you, Hinata. It's all good now. Don't worry with me." Naruto grinned at her.

"O-of course I do. I don't want to see you sad." Hinata said while looking down.

"I don't want to see you like that either Hi-Hina-chan." Hinata stared at him without caring about hiding her blush. "Uh, why did you call me that yesterday?"

"Huh?" Hinata blushed even more and turned once again to the sky. "You called me Hina-chan so I came up with Naru-kun for you. You don't like it?" Hinata nervously looked at him again.

"I do Hina-chan." Both smiled at eachother and Naruto noticed how beautiful she was while smiling. While looking at her, he noticed that she was shivering. By instinct Naruto put his right arm over her shoulders but she squeaked. The blond immediately took off his arm. "S-sorry Hinata. I saw you shiver so... Maybe it's better to..." Naruto was about to stand when Hinata grabbed his arm.

"I, I don't mind." Hinata once again blushed. "I just w-wasn't expecting that." Slowly, Naruto wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head against his chest. After some minutes Hinata yawned and Naruto who had his eyes almost closed looked at her.

"Perhaps we should go to our tents. I you fall asleep and I take you to yours, Sakura will kill me on the moment." Naruto whispered regretfully. To his surprise, Hinata groaned. She was almost sleeping and wasn't paying attention to what she was saying or doing. Naruto helped her to stand and they went to their tents. Before entering, they stood there looking at eachother.

"I really liked this moment. We should do it again sometime." Naruto grinned at her.

"Thank you, I liked it too." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and blushed before saying. "Good night Naru-kun."

"Sleep well, Hina-chan." He watched her entering her tent before doing the same.

"Uh, not...not now Zu...Zune-chan." Nawirama sleep-talked. Naruto chuckled while he closed the tent before laying down. Relieved by understanding what he was feeling a little better, Naruto finally fell asleep.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Killer Bee vs Kisame

-Nawirama13


	18. Killer Bee vs Kisame

Chapter 18 - Killer Bee vs Kisame

* * *

**Flashback**

"So that's it boys. You can go now." Shikaku told to his students.

"See you tomorrow, Shikaku-sensei." Izumo said his goodbyes to his mentor, before turning to hear his noisy partner.

"Man, our first mission tomorrow! It will be great!" Kotetsu said enthusiastically.

"Why did I have to get such troublesome kids?" Shikaku sighed.

"They are a bit noisy aren't they, Shikaku-sensei?"

"Yes they are, Asuma. Are you going to the Hokage Residence now?" Shikaku asked to his third student.

"Yeah. I'm needing some rest." Asuma yawned. "See you tomorrow, Shikaku-sensei."

_"He's a good boy. At least he doesn't look troublesome."_

Shikaku went for a walk. It was his first day as leader of Team 10. Kotetsu was just too hyperactive and could be a real pain in the neck. Izumo was usually quiet, but still talked too much if Kotetsu was around. Asuma, the Third's son, was a bit like Shikaku, a laid back and somewhat lazy boy who didn't like to get in trouble.

"Stop that Ibiki!" A young girl shouted to her teammate. Shikaku stopped to watch the scene. The members of Team 8 were in the middle of an argument near the Hokage street.

"Don't worry. I just want to talk with him." Ibiki calmly spoke and turned his attention once again to the little boy. "So tell me Ebisu, were you peeping on Kurenai when she was changing to her training outfit?"

"O-of course not! That's indecent!" Ebisu replied to his teammates, little drops of sweat forming in his face. "I would never do such a shameless act."

"Oh really?" Ibiki picked something from inside his jacket. "You better tell us the truth if you don't want me to tear apart your favourite magazine." Ibiki opened the magazine, showing a picture of two nude women hugging eachother suggestively.

"No! Don't do it!" Ebisu swiftly took the magazine from Ibiki's hands. When he looked up, he saw a furious Kurenai with a swell vein in her forehead.

"How dare you to peep on me Ebisu!" She aimed a powerful kick to his lower parts, causing Ebisu to throw himself to the floor and roll over in pain. After Kurenai ripped the magazine to shreds, she turned and left along with Ibiki.

"_Ouch... What a troublesome girl...Poor Inoichi will have a hard time taking care of them..." _Shikaku continued to walk towards the training field but he stopped near the bridge when he heard another discussion.

"Watch out, Anko!" Iruka jumped towards Anko and pushed her out of the way, being hit by the senbon right across the nose. "Ouch!"

"How dare you Genma? She did nothing to you!" A girl with long purple violet hair furiously shouted to the boy with a senbon on his mouth, who had just tried to hurt her best friend.

"What do you know about it, Yugao? You only care about following Hayate and fail to realize the threat she is! She's Orochimaru's apprentice, the guy who tortured and killed my brother!" Genma shouted not only to Yugao but especially to the crying Anko who stood and ran away.

"Anko! Wait!" Yugao ran after her and Iruka tried to hit a punch on Genma but missed, falling from the bridge and into the water below.

"Stay out of this, Iruka!" Genma turned and left followed by Raido and Aoba.

"Hey, kids! Leave the girl alone." Shikaku suddenly stepped in front of the three boys. "She was betrayed by Orochimaru. She needs support not a group of morons to pick on her. Or...do you want me to tell what happened to Tsume?"

"Uh, no, please don't tell Tsume-sensei." Raido pleeded before both him and Aoba left. Genma glared to both Shikaku and Iruka before leaving as well.

_"That boy is full of hatred towards Orochimaru and I can't blame him, but poor Anko has no fault about her master's doings. Troublesome..."_ Shikaku thought. "Hey Iruka, need some help?"

"No Shikaku-sensei. I'm fine." Iruka grinned and rubbed the back of his head, after getting out of water.

"You should go find the girls and make sure Hizashi does something about that cut on your face."

"Hai!" Iruka turned and went to find his partners.

_"He's a brave and caring boy. If he stops with those pranks and trains a bit he may get far..." _Shikaku grinned at his thought. _"I wonder which thing would be more troublesome..." _Shikaku kept on walking until he reached the training field. There, he collided with Kushina Uzumaki.

"Ow! Sorry Shikaku, I didn't see you coming." Kushina rubbed her head, trying to make the pain go away.

"I was distracted as well. Sorry."

"So what are you doing here, Shika? It's unusual of you coming this far." Kushina grinned at him.

"I needed to walk for awhile. It was such a troublesome day." Shikaku sighed and Kushina laughed. "How are your boys?"

"Guy is just like is brother Kai, going on and on about flames of youth and that stuff. He even wears the same attire. Oh, I hate green..." Shikaku chuckled. Kushina always had a great sense of humor. "Tenzo is in the "Epitome of Adolescence" like Guy says and he has a natural talent to scare people. Thank kami that he doesn't do it often... Hayate is the quiet one. I need to make him more loose..."

"Well, mine are troublesome but I kind of like the Third's son. He seems to be quite like me." Shikaku revealed with a proud grin. "What did you do for a first day?"

"I tested their elements. Tenzo's primary one is Water but we already know that he can use Earth and the First's Wood Style as well, thanks to that snake bastard...Guy is Fire and after he learned that, he seemed to talk even more about those cursed flames of youth." Kushina sighed and Shikaku laughed. "Hayate is Wind like me. Perhaps I'll teach him the Crescent Moon Dance someday."

_"Geez, I only gave them a talk, not even a pep one." _Shikaku sighed and noticed that in front of them was the Fourth Hokage along with his students Kakashi, Obito and Rin.

"See you here tomorrow kids." Minato waved to the other members of Team 7 before turning to both Shikaku and Kushina. "Hey Shikaku's here too! Isn't walking too troublesome for you?"

"It is but the day itself was too troublesome and I don't want to see Yoshino so soon after it." Minato and Kushina both laughed until tears came to her eyes. "Oh well, time to go...I don't want to hold the candle for you two." Shikaku waved to the lovers who blushed when he said that.

"How does he...Did you tell him Minato?" Shikaku could still hear a somewhat angry Kushina say as he was leaving the training field.

**End of Flashback**

"You two better not be laughing at me up there..." Shikaku chuckled as he entered his office for his second troublesome day as Hokage.

* * *

When Naruto came out of his tent there was no one out there. Nawirama wasn't inside when Naruto woke up so he thought that he was searching for something around the area. The other tent was still closed, so the girls were still sleeping, Naruto thought. As he stretched, he heard the unzipping of the other tent. Hinata came out still wearing his orange jacket and holding her own in her left hand.

"Good morning, Hinata-chan." Naruto grinned and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Did you sleep well?"

"Y-yes Naruto-kun." Hinata said, still trying to recover from the kiss he gave her. "And you? Did you have that nightmare again?"

"Not tonight, but I think Nawirama had a pretty good dream about Shizune-neechan." Naruto laughed until he heard Hinata giggling. "Do you know something about it, Hina-chan?"

"I, I don't like to talk about other people's lives..." Hinata blushed. "...but when I left your home the other day, I saw Nawirama entering in Shizune's."

"Damn, he's quick." Both laughed a bit more until Naruto remembered something he wanted to ask. "Hinata, did your father notice that you weren't home?"

"No, he was too tired when he got home and didn't check. Neji told him to rest after he assured him that I was already sleeping. Only Neji and Tenten know."

"Do they have something?" Naruto asked. He noticed that when Tenten was near Neji, she sometimes acted like Hinata did when she was near him.

"I don't know but I think so." Hinata giggled again until she remembered that she was still wearing Naruto's jacket. "Sorry Naru-kun, I forgot to hand it back to you." Hinata tried to unzip the jacket but the zip wasn't coming down. "I-It's stuck."

"Here, let me try." Naruto tried to do it himself until he noticed that Hinata turned beet red. "Ah sorry Hi-Hinata! Please don't kill me!" He said as he backed off.

"O-Of course not. I'm not Sakura." Hearing that made Naruto laugh until he was crying. Hinata started to play with her fingers. "T-Try it again."

"Damn, it was really stuck." Naruto said after he finally managed to unzip the jacket, something that took a few tries. Immediately afterwards, a furious scream made itself heard.

"NARUTO!" Sakura ran towards him ready to strike but Hinata stood between them. "Damn it, don't use her as a shield! Who do you think you are to try to undress her?"

"Sakura, stop!" Hinata shouted to the surprise of Naruto, the charging Sakura and the returning Nawirama.

_"Wow, the girl really explodes when she's angry." _Nawirama thought as she reverted to the normal Hinata, playing with her fingers. _"Better advise the others not to mess with Naruto..._

"S-sorry for that. The zip was stuck and Naruto-kun was just trying to help." Hinata explained while both of them quickly put on their respective jackets.

"Well if that's settled, let's pick the things together so I can put them on the scroll." Nawirama commanded. "We'll have a hard day waiting for us."

"Hey Nawirama, can I ask you something?" Naruto asked with a smirk when they were about to leave.

"Of course, Naruto. Go for it."

"What's up with you and Shizune-neechan?" Naruto elbowed him in the gut.

_"Oh crap, no good!" _Nawirama nervously thought. "She's...she's my neechan as well. She's not really my sister but is my cousin."

"So, you're Tsunade-sama's deceased boyfriend Dan's son, right?" Sakura asked.

"You are... It's time to leave now." All of them nodded and started to run towards the direction that was indicated in Kabuto's notebook._ "They're too smart. If I'm not careful they'll end up finding all the truth on their own. I have to tell it to Naruto after we're done with this mission..."_

* * *

"What? The Tsuchikage should have told me that beforehand!" Gaara angrily said, after hearing the report of the returning Team Baki.

"I knew that something was wrong with the girl but I never imagined her to be Deidara's sister until she told us." Temari told her brother. "Madara wants something from her, but what?"

"I don't know, but if she has the same abilities that her brother had, that could mean trouble." Gaara concluded.

"But Sasuke's on Akatsuki and he was the one to kill Deidara. So there's no way she'll help them." Kankuro remembered his siblings.

"Madara is an expert in manipulation. Just see what happened at the summit." Gaara sat on his chair again. "Baki? Baki?" Baki shook his head and stared at the siblings.

"Uh, yes Kazekage-sama, what do you need?"

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, Kazekage-sama. I was just thinking about something."

"I want you to send a message to the Tsuchikage, asking him what he plans on doing. I also want you to send a message to the new Hokage, regarding her ANBU's behavior." Gaara ordered. "Send Takamaru to Iwa, he's the faster of the hawks. As for Konoha, send Tobimaru."

"As you wish...Gaara-sama." Baki turned and closed the door after leaving.

"What's wrong with him?" Gaara asked to his siblings.

"He has been like that since that ANBU tried to kill him. It was all because he killed her lover during the Invasion of Konoha." Temari explained. "His name was Hayate Gekko."

"Yes, I remember him. He was the proctor in the Chunin exams. It's a shame I didn't get Orochimaru myself for manipulating our village at his will." Gaara turned to the window.

"The thing is that Baki was willing to let her kill him." Kankuro said. "He told her that himself."

"Baki is a man of honor. He was disgusted when he learned that he killed for Orochimaru's campaign instead of doing it for the good of our village. I'm not surprised that he would allow her to kill him." Gaara turned back to his brothers. "Keep an eye on him. When he finishes his task, all three of you are to get ready to escort me to the Hidden Leaf Village for the Chunin Exams."

"Hai!" Temari and Kankuro nodded before leaving Gaara's office.

* * *

"Oh yeah! Oh yo! Killer Bee is better than you! Oh yeah! Oh yo!"

**"You know that no one is hearing you, right?"** The Eight-Tailed Ox asked to his host.

"C'mon bull, you can hear me, the greatest rapper ever, Killer Bee! OH...YEAH!" Killer Bee raised his right arm, making the sign of the horns with his right hand.

**"Unfortunately, I can. At least you could stop with that annoying yeah yo crap. It's getting on my nerves."**

"That's why I'm great, the host of Tailed Beast number eight. Oh y..."

**"Stop that and concentrate! It seems we have a guest..." **The Ox informed his Jinchuriki. In front of Killer Bee was a man with shark features, dressed in a black cloak with red cloud patterns and wielding a heavy bandaged sword on his right hand.

"So finally we meet face to face...Jinchuriki of the Eight Tailed Ox." Kisame said. "Kisame Hoshigaki, pleased to make your acquaintance."

"It's Lord Jinchuriki and Lord Eight Tails. Got it, fool? Get it, fool?" Killer Bee angrily corrected.

"Ahh, you're a lord eh? So why don't I present you to Lady Samehada?" Kisama chuckled, slightly lifting his sword so that Bee would understand what he was talking about.

"Samehada? You're from the Mist, judging by your tool... Not impressed, shark boy, shark fool." Killer Bee stated before drawing his two swords from his back.

"A swordsman? Eheheheh, looks like we'll have some fun Samehada..."

* * *

"Hey sleepyhead, time to get up." Anko's eyes were still half opened when she straightned herself in her chair. When she finally realized who talked she jumped of the chair and hugged him. "Hey now Anko, I'm still a bit sore here." Iruka said with a strained look but Anko didn't let go.

"You're a baka! I should be in that bed not you!" Anko shouted and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ouch!"

"I'm not that afraid little girl anymore! I don't wan...I don't need you to sacrifice yourself for me Iruka." Iruka stared to the window for awhile.

"I know you're not defenseless nor afraid. Hell, you've always been better than me. The thing is that I...I can't let you get hurt."

"Why?" Anko stared at him waiting for an answer.

"I..." Iruka was interrupted when Shikaku and Shizune entered the room.

_"Oh damn it, he was about to do it!" _Genma couldn't believe in the bad timing of the Sixth Hokage and his assistant.

"Ah nice to see that you're awake, Iruka. I didn't want to awake Genma but I have to talk with the three of you." Shikaku sighed and approached Genma who was laying facedown with his head buried on the pillow.

"I'll take care of that, Hokage-sama." Anko approached Genma's bedside table, picked up one of his senbons and used it to stab him in the ass.

"Aaargh!" Genma jumped of his bed and rubbed his bottom. "Damn you Anko! What was that for?"

"For that time you made the scar on Iruka's face and for faking that you were sleeping." Iruka chuckled a bit, before grabbing his belly that was still hurting from time to time.

"Well boys, time for serious business." Shikaku said in a more adequate tone. "I came to tell you the results of the Jounin exams. I know it has a been a long time since the exams but with all things that were going on, oh well I'll just say it... Iruka Umino, I'm here to let you know that from today forward you're a Jounin from the Hidden Leaf Village. Congratulations." He saw all of them get a bit happier, especially Iruka. "Anko I need to speak with you about something. Can you come with me?"

"Ah, it looks like I can't call you an underling anymore. I guess I'll have to go only with scarface." Genma grinned to Iruka, who didn't answer as he watched Anko leave along with the Sixth Hokage.

"C'mon Iruka, time to see those ribs." Shizune smiled at him and whispered. "She didn't leave your side by a second. Unless Shikaku-sama sends her to do something she will come back."

* * *

Shikaku and Anko didn't go far. They went to the waiting room and sit down on the benches.

"You've been told about all that happened in your absence and about what we're doing about it. I've sent teams to find Akatsuki, Kabuto and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, plus Ibiki and Inoichi are trying their best to find something about Danzo. Now I need your help on another matter."

"And what's that Hokage-sama?" Anko asked.

"I want you to tell me if you know anything about Sasuke's new group." Shikaku picked some papers and showed them to Anko. "The first one is Suigetsu Hozuki. The Hidden Mist gave us this information about him but since they're so strict about intel, I just can't believe this is all. On one of the last investigations made by Jiraiya-sama, he found out that Sasuke was picking up people who were imprisoned by Orochimaru. Perhaps, you know something more?"

"I'll tell you what I know. It's not much but I'll help with what I can." Anko read the document and then continued. "Ah, so he trained in order to be one of the Seven Mist Swordsmen."

"How do you know that?"

"Every member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist goes through a special transformation. Nothing is known about it because the Mist doesn't leak any information regarding the Swordsmen, like you said. This transformation is what gives them the shark teeth along with other fish features and some abilities."

"If they don't leak any information, how do you know that?" The intrigued Shikaku asked.

"Good ol' Orochimaru-sensei." Anko explained in ironic fashion. "He wanted to know the secrets about the Swordsmen and wanted to capture at least one to study them. This boy went through that process as you can see by his teeth. That's what I can tell you about him."

"I'll try to ask the Mizukage about this. The Mist and Leaf Villages are main allies to find the Akatsuki and that information will also help against Kisame Hoshigaki." Shikaku thoughtfully said, while he picked a picture of a red-haired girl. "The next one is Karin. We don't know anything about her except that she seems to be a sensor type kunoichi, at least by what she did at the summit. According to Kakashi, the other Kages didn't seem to know her."

"I can't help with that. I never met or heard about her. I'm sorry." Anko told her Hokage.

"I expected as much. The last one has a cursed seal like you. The Tsuchikage informed us that his name is Jugo and is also known as bipolar Jugo. Iwa was once asked to investigate about him, after he destroyed a small village in the Land of Rice Fields, years ago. Anything?" Shikaku hopefully asked.

"Jugo with a Cursed Seal? You're in your lucky day, Shikaku." Anko thought for a moment before continuing. "He's one of the original cursed seal bearers. I don't know much but I remember that he had a brother called Homaru."

"Tell me Anko, what do you know?" Shikaku insisted.

"Well, actually they don't have a cursed seal. It's a kekkei genkai that consists in mutating his own body into more advantageous shapes, giving them huge boosts in power, speed and durability. Orochimaru caught Homaru and extracted an enzyme from his body and created the cursed seals so he could create an army but almost everyone that he marked with that seal would end up dying. I think that happened because it was originally a bloodline limit, so most bodies rejected the enzyme. However, he extracted all of it and Homaru eventually died."

"How do you know this?"

"When he put the cursed seal on me, I started to transform. When I woke up, I prentended that I was still knocked out and I heard him talk with someone. He told that person what I told you and said that he made a mistake." Anko continued to explain. "So he decided that in a few years he would get Jugo who by the time was still a baby and would extract the enzyme in small doses since their body could create more of that substance if there's still a remain of it. Then, there's what we found out in recent years... Orochimaru changed the cursed seals, limiting the user to one transformation, making the survival rate increase. Mine is still the old Cursed Seal of Heaven, which gives us more control over our body. It's the closest one to that kekkei genkai...and possibly the most dangerous to our mental health if we can't use it properly."

"Don't you remember who the other person was? Perhaps, Amachi?" Shikaku asked, as he remembered Orochimaru's associate in the Land of Sea.

"No, I was pretty sure it wasn't him, but I still can't remember somethings about my past. I'm sorry Shikaku-sama." Anko frowned, looking frustrated because after all the improvements, she still had a partial amnesia.

"Don't worry Anko, you already helped us a lot. Thank you." Shikaku stood and stretched. "I would like to keep talking with you but this job is too troublesome. Tell the boys to get out of those beds soon, they're making me jealous."

"I will." Anko grinned and from the window she watched Shikaku leaving the building. Her grin disappeared as she saw a female ANBU approaching the Sixth Hokage in the courtyard of the hospital.

* * *

"What's wrong Karin?" Jugo stared at her worriedly. She had stopped and had been looking to the same place for awhile.

"There's a fight going on. Two huge chakras. One is from Kisame and the other...It's the Eight Tailed Ox's Jinchuriki!" Karin told her partner. "What should we do Jugo?"

"Nothing. This is not our fight anymore. We only need to find Sasuke." Both of them continued but, from time to time, Karin looked in the direction from where she sensed the huge confrontation.

* * *

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Kisame laughed as he tried to find Killer Bee. "What's wrong? Didn't you like your date with Lady Samehada? She wants another oppurtunity to show you her love, to ravage you little by little!"

"Oh yeah, this is the good stuff. Yeah and if I make it like this...Wow!" Killer Bee was sitting on a tree branch, writing a new rhyme in his notebook.

**"Hey, shouldn't you be fighting the Akatsuki guy?" **The angry Bijuu asked.

"Just chill bull, look at this material...Killer Bee defeats Shark Boy and his blade, the final act of Lord Jinchuriki's crusade! Oh Yeah! This is great!"

**"If that guy beats you, I'm screwed and you're dead...ARE YOU A FOOL OR WHAT! STOP WITH THIS CRAP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT HIM!"**

"Gee, calm down bull. If he wins, we pull the same trick on th..." Killer Bee couldn't complete his sentence. He had to jump of the branch as the tree started to fall after Samehada went through it.

"My Samehada is attracted by high chakra levels, it was only a matter of time...Earth Style: Earth Flow Divide" Kisame put both hands on the ground and a huge fissure appeared between both of them with Killer Bee needing to jump in order to avoid it. "Water Style: Explosive Water Shockwave" A huge amount of water came from Kisame's mouth and filled the entire fissure.

"I can't get in there or I'll be bye bye." Bee tried to find Kisame but then he appeared right in front of him. "The fool's fast...But the fool not fast enough! Lightning Style: Lightning Swords" Bee ducked a punch and stabbed him in the gut with one of his Super Vibrating Lightning Style Swords that was completely enveloped in Lightning chakra, but to his surprise Kisame turned into water. _"Water Clone?"_

"Water Style: Water Shark Gun" The real Kisame appeared from behind and created used the recently made lake's water to create three water sharks that rushed in the direction of the Jinchuriki.

"Lightning Style: Thunder Dragon Tornado" Killer Bee jumped and started to spin in midair. Lightning chakra started to leak from his body, creating a tornado-shaped thunder dragon that clashed against the water sharks. Kisame then appeared from under him, grabbing his left ankle and throwing him down to the lake.

"You're mine!" Kisame grinned as he went through the hands seals. "Water Style: Five Feeding Sharks" Kisame put his right hand on the water surface and created five huge water sharks that swiftly went in Killer Bee's direction. Bee, using his swords, cut through the five sharks, seemingly getting rid of the menace.

"What the-?" The sharks regenerated from the surrounding water and attacked the Jinchuriki again, until five consecutive underwater explosion occured.

"I better pick him before he drowns..." The grinning Kisame advanced towards the lake but Killer Bee jumped out of the water, revealing the Eight Tailed Ox Cloak around him with six tails already out. "_Eheh, I was starting to get disappointed. Very well, let's see what you got." _

Kisame rushed towards Killer Bee with Samehada on his hand. Kisame slashed three times but Bee ducked it twice and blocked it with both hands the third time. The Akatsuki member grinned. Unexpectedly, the chakra cloak disappeared around Killer Bee's hands, allowing the scales that came out of the bandages to shred Bee's hands. Before he could even grunt, Bee was forced to dodge a new slash.

"Motherfu..." Bee's insult wasn't finished, as he realized his chakra cloak was gone. Kisame jumped towards Bee and tried to crush him under the weight of his sword, but Bee took a step back and did a somersault, delivering an axe kick that pushed Samehada down. As he landed back on the water's surface, Bee was already enveloped by a new cloak, again with six tails. The Jinchuriki charged with his right arm extended, two chakra horns coming out of the cloak. "Got you, fool! Lariat"

"Eheh, not bad..." At the last second, Kisame stopped the chakra flow on his feet and fell to the water, pulling Killer Bee by the ankle. To his own surprise, Killer Bee's chakra cloak disappeared again and the Mist renegade held Killer Bee in a full nelson hold. They struggled for awhile until Killer Bee started to lose his breath. "This is one advantage of being one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. It's not only the shark looks, I can breathe underwater as well, one thing that I'm pretty sure you can't."

Bee was able to hit Kisame with a pair of elbow strikes, allowing him to get free from his grip. The Guardian of Kumogakure tried to get back to the surface, but Kisame was coming for him once again by using Water Style: Underwater Motion Jutsu. Killer Bee performed a pair of hand seals and, when Kisame grabbed, the Jinchuriki used Lightning Style: Lightning Armor. Even though it was weaker than the Raikage's version, the electricity around Bee's body immediately shocked Kisame, forcing him to release Bee. However, since they were inside water, the effects were received by both and in double. Both of them jumped out of the water to firm land and both were panting considerably.

"Eh, shocking yourself just to get out of the water. Pretty extreme eh?" Kisame grinned, showing his razor shark teeth.

"Lord Jinchuriki is the suicidal, homicidal, genocidal bro, yo!" Killer Bee grinned back and once again created his chakra cloak, this time with the full eight tails. Kisame held both hands together and Samehada came flying from behind Bee, who used three chakra tails to grab the blade. He then jumped and threw it against his owner who simply jumped and stomped her, turning her inside out and grabbing her before she fell into the ground.

_"Now I see! The sword sucks chakra! It sucked those three and three again. Limit is six, no more you'll suck from me, from Killer Bee. Time from Version 2, bakayarou!"_ Bee tapped on the Eight-Tailed Ox chakra, adding six more chakra tails to the two he already had. The tails enveloped him and created a darker version of the normal chakra cloak, giving him a more monstrous and muscular appearance. Kisame swung his Samehada and Bee used his left arm to block the blade. The Hachibi's host then tried for a punch to the gut from the right side but Kisame moved the sword and blocked Bee's attack again. Having to sustain the weight of Samehada while blocking Bee's fist, Kisame was open for a new Lariat attack. "I got you now!"

"Eheh, wrong!" Kisame shouted with a grin from ear to ear. Bee's Version 2 cloak disappeared, being replaced by a Version 1 cloak with four-tails.

_"H-how?" _The shocked Bee thought. With the weight of Bee's fist on the sword being much less, Kisame waved Samehada to block the Jinchuriki's extended arm, that didn't even have the chakra horns formed. "I thought your sword could only suck six chakra tails!"

"You're right! It can only six chakra tails...by one contact! I blocked two of your blows, which means the eight tails from your strongest cloak and four from this one! This is the third contact..." Kisame chuckled as Bee's cloak disappeared, before slamming down Samehada, smashing Bee's left arm against the ground and under the heavy blade's weight.

"Aaargh!" Killer Bee screamed in pain as he felt the bones of his left arm being crushed.

"From all the Tailed Beasts, only the Shukaku, through sand, and the Kyuubi, through its foul chakra, possess regenerative abilities. Your arm is broken, you can't use Jutsus, you're done." Kisame laughed at the sight of his defeated opponent.

"You fool...I didn't become a Guardian of Kumogakure just because of my Tailed Beast." Killer Bee was on one knee and dropped to hit a sliding kick on Kisame's right leg. Kisame smashed down his Samehada but Killer Bee dodged and hit a kick on the sword. When the bandages started to spread out from the place where Bee hit Samehada, the Guardian took two steps back and grabbed a bandage, using it to give him leverage to jump and hit Kisame with a jumping roundhouse kick to the back of the head. Kisame was on one knee when Killer Bee started to charge his right fist with Lightning chakra. He ran towards the Akatsuki member and tried to punch him but Kisame dodged and bit onto his already injured arm, causing the Jinchuriki to scream in pain.

"Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu" After kicking Bee away, a large water shark came from the lake to envelop Samehada. The water shark-enveloped sword hit Bee on the chest and pressed him against the ground. "I have to admit that this was fun. I didn't have so much fun since the odd beast but I'll also admit that I'm getting tired. Unfortunately for you, this is the end. Water Style:..."

"Water Dragon Jutsu" Chojuro interrupted his fellow swordsman and a water dragon hit Kisame on the chest, sending him flying to the lake.

* * *

"You're sure that your friend can do that for me?"

"Of course. Zetsu has an extense knowledge in alternative medical ninjutsu. What you need only he can do." Madara explained to the man in front of him.

"And what makes you so sure that I won't leave when I have what I want?"

"That's simple my young friend. Even with Zetsu's help, you'll have to wait some time before you achieve your full potential. You'll be better with some protection of myself and your new partners." Madara explained.

"I see...and what if I become stronger than you? I believe that you're really Madara Uchiha but you seem quite weak for what history tells us."

"Yes, I'm a shade of my former self. The thing is that I'm something that neither you or your master are...I'm immortal." Madara extended his right hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"Alright. I'll help you in your quest, but when you have the Hachibi and the Kyuubi in your hands I'm out."

"Fair enough." Both men shook hands to seal their deal.

* * *

******Author's Note:** I'm not taking in consideration the ages presented in the databooks, only those that were openly said in the manga and anime or that we can easily conclude after what was said, like Naruto being now 16 or Neji being 17. Ages only told in the databooks, like Genma being now 33 and Raido being now 35, I won't acknowledge in this story. Therefore, all the characters shown in the first flashback, I'm considering them to be between 29 to 31 years old in the current timeline, while their mentors are between 39 to 41 (those who already died would be of the same age as well). Since such information wasn't introduced in the story but only in the databooks, I don't see much problem in bending it a bit, so I can form these teams and possible storylines.

**Next Chapter:** A Colossal Battle

-Nawirama13


	19. A Colossal Battle

Forgot to say in the last chapter's Author Note that the bit of conversation between Anko and Shikaku was meant to explain the time irregularity presented in the original story, about Jugo's age at the time he was captured by Orochimaru and the time when Anko received her Cursed Seal.

Thanks for the reviews and support. Here's #19.

* * *

Chapter 19 - A Colossal Battle

* * *

"Shinobiiiii...shinooobii...we endure...shinoobi supress their sooooobs..." The small man passionately sang, causing both his partners to sweatdrop. The three were travelling on the top of the head of a giant raccoon.

"I can't endure this for much longer..." Shi whispered, a painful look on his face.

"At least we don't have to travel by foot. Ponta allows us to have a very nice trip. Besides..." Darui chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "...the lyrics Sabu-chan sings are quite interesting."

"Huh? I can't believe you of all people would enjoy this!" Shi shouted with blank eyes. To his shock, Sabu appeared right in front of him with a raised fist and a scary look on his face.

"You can't just sing Enka. Enka requires a passion-filled soul!" Shi and Darui could both swear they were seeing flames in Sabu's eyes. "You lack passion! Passion! Darui though has quite some inside him. He takes enka seriously!"

"That's right." Darui smiled and made a victory sign with his fingers, causing Shi to sweatdrop.

_"He did it on purpose to look good..." _Shi concluded.

"As the characters in enka imply, it's important to act out the world in the song with passion! Then, the vibrato..." Sabu was so enveloped in his explanation about enka that he turned his back on Darui and Shi.

"You said that just to look good, didn't you?" The upset Shi whispered.

"I have to assure our ride." Darui lazily answered, causing Shi to slap his own forehead. "What can I say? Sorry, I'm just too dull..."

"You're always saying that!" Shi angrily stood.

"That's it! Passion! Now sing!" Sabu supported the blond. "Shinobiiii..."

_"Where did I get myself into?" _Shi sighed in defeat.

* * *

"How is he?" Chojuro asked. The little young man held his sword in front of him, ready for Kisame's counterattack.

"Very tired and with a broken arm. He still as a lot of chakra but his body is pretty banged up." Ao informed his partner.

"Who are you?" Killer Bee asked.

"Shinobi from the Mist who are here to help you. We received information from Konoha that you were close and we were sent to find both you and Kisame." Ao explained.

"You're fools to join in. Thanks for the help, Hunter-nin." Killer Bee stated as he saw the clothes that Ao was wearing. The host stood and looked to the little young man wielding a huge sword. "Hey sword fool, are you a Mist Swordsman too?"

"Yes Killer Bee-san. Do you still have enough energy to release the Eight-Tailed Ox?" Chojuro asked.

"Of course I do, bakayarou...but with you here, the bull doesn't need to appear."

"I hope not...Hiramekarei Unleashing" The sword's bandages fell, revealing its true form while Chojuro looked around the lake. "You can come out, Kisame-senpai."

"Eheheh, what a nice surprise kohai." Kisame grinned after seeing his former partner. "You really think you can defeat me? You couldn't even beat Zabuza."

"We won't know unless we try!" Chojuro shouted to the Mist renegade.

_"Good Chojuro! That's the way to go!" _Ao grinned, by seeing the confident look in Chojuro's face. The Hunter-nin focused on his task, releasing a small pulse of chakra from his body, in an amount that only a sensor could detect. Then, he made that chakra travel a distance, like in what is done with genjutsu. The direction it took however, was towards Northeast, in the hopes it would be found by a sensor from Kumogakure's searching teams. _"I'm sure the Raikage has already sent people searching for him. Let's just hope they are near..."_

"Eheheh, do you think I'm stupid?" Kisame swung Samehada and the handle stretched, so that the blade would go after Ao. The Hunter-nin dodged the attack but, by doing so, he lost control over the released chakra. "It's true that Samehada only wants to go after large amounts of chakra, but she can sense every amount of it, even that ridiculous amount you released, Ao-san."

"So you were on me, huh?" Ao seemed upset by his intentions being so quickly discovered. "I guess I'll leave him to you then, Chojuro."

"Hai." The younger swordsman nodded and charged in Kisame's direction, before both swords clashed. Kisame used his amazing strength to push Chojuro's blade away and raised his sword before letting her come down on Chojuro.

"Oh, the kid is bye bye!" Killer Bee shouted.

"Just watch." Ao calmly said. Chakra came out of Hiramekarei's holes in the form of a pair of scissors that trapped Kisame's blade. Knowing that the Greatsword would absorb the chakra blades, Chojuro dropped Hiramekarei and jumped to hit a pair of kicks on Kisame's chest who staggered back.

"Water Style: Water Clone Jutsu" Three clones of Chojuro appeared and started to hit punches and kicks on Kisame from every side. Kisame managed to block or dodge most of them but Chojuro managed to hit him sometimes. Kisame then grabbed one of the clones by his left leg and swung him against the other three but all transformed into water.

"What? Where's the real one?" Kisame looked to both sides and then turned back. Having bought enough time with his clones, Chojuro went through the complex combination of hands seals.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu" Kisame was hit right in the chest by another water dragon and was sent underwater. Chojuro put both hands on the water surface and a whirlpool formed and engulfed Kisame. "Water Style: Water Vortex Jutsu"

"Wow, the fool is doing great! In 10, I would give him 8!" The surprised Killer Bee complimented.

"He can't deliver the same amount of damage that you can but he knows Kisame way better than you. He's ready for him." Ao explained.

_"I'm using too much chakra."_ The panting Chojuro thought about what to do for awhile. "Ao-senpai, tell Killer Bee what to do and quick."

"Alright." While Chojuro grabbed his sword and watched the movements underwater, Ao came closer to the Jinchuriki.

"I'm surprised kid! You're stronger than I thought but there's still no way you can beat me." Kisame told Chojuro who noticed that the Akatsuki was already behind him. Kisame hit a kick on Chojuro who was projected a few meters before he grabbed Samehada and started to run towards the Hiramekarei holder. The Samehada holder was forced to stop when he had to use his blade to block Ao's kick. "Eh, long time no see, Ao-san!"

"Hmph, and to think that only one member of Team Yagura would end up being on the side of good." Ao, who had his Byakugan eye activated, hit Kisame's right arm with his left elbow and he dropped Samehada.

"Are you talking about her? What did you expect? All the others weren't good to start with." Kisame remebered before they both started a taijutsu battle. Ao was taking advantage of Kisame's fatigue and was winning. After sending the Monster of the Hidden Mist away with another kick, Ao kept a hand in front of his chest and raised the other one above his head.

"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu" Kisame couldn't see his opponent through the thick mist around him. Ao used his Byakugan to find him and hit him with two hard punches followed by a spinning kick that send Kisame a few meters back. The ANBU drew a kama and tried to slash his opponent with it but, to his surprise, Samehada appeared out of nowhere to block the blade. The Kirigakure missing-nin once again broke the chakra flow on his feet and went underwater, pulling Ao by his ankle, trying to do the same he did to Killer Bee earlier. Chojuro, using a Underwater Motion Jutsu, hit Kisame with an hard headbutt to the gut, making him release the older shinobi. A hand gesture was enough to make Samehada dive underwater and block the path for Ao, who was already struggling to breath. While Chojuro helped his superior in avoiding the sword's attacks, Kisame had enough time to reach the surface and perform the needed hand seals.

"Water Style: A Thousand Feeding Sharks" After putting both hands on the surface, a thousand water sharks advanced in the direction of the two Mist shinobi. Chojuro used his Underwater Motion Jutsu to swiftly pick Ao, avoid some attacks and jump out of the water. While in the air, Ao pushed Chojuro out of the way and got hit by a hard knee to the gut. Chojuro performed some hand seals and when Kisame landed back on the water, he wrapped the missing-nin's neck with both arms and wrapped his legs around his torso.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu" Water came from under both swordsmen to trap them in a shpere of water.

"What are you thinking Chojuro? We're both from the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, we can both breathe underwater. This is useless." Kisame remembered his junior.

"Do it now, Bee!" Chojuro shouted and to Kisame's shock, Killer Bee started to run towards them with a large amount of lightning chakra around his right fist. He then punched the water prison, shocking both Kisame and Chojuro.

_"Float like a butterfly, sting like a Bee!" _Killer Bee grinned. Ao tried to shout but he was still trying to regain his breath after Kisame's blow. Kisame and Chojuro both fell into the water. Both were getting deeper and deeper until Killer Bee reached for Chojuro and brought him back to the surface with his good arm. He brought him to where Ao was and he took a quick checkup on his partner with the Byakugan eye.

"There are no internal injuries. He's exhausted, but otherwise fine." Ao said before frowning in pain and grabbing his own torso.

"You in bad shape too, bakayarou." Killer Bee was also holding his broken left arm.

"Some broken ribs, nothing special." Ao said before noticing the water in the lake trembling. "What the-?" He couldn't complete his sentence as an enormous dark blue shark-like monster appeared from underwater. "T-That's what Chojuro told me! He fused with Samehada!"

"Hey, are you seeing this Lord Eight-Tails?"

**"Yes, I am. I guess it's time for me to come out."**

* * *

"Your other half is going to take long?"

"No, he's almost here, Tobi." White Zetsu assured his leader.

"I need both of you to be swift on this one. Have you prepared the medicine I told you?"

"Yup." White Zetsu picked up a bottle with some pills. "Does that mean that you convinced target 5 to join?"

"Exactly. I'll take these to him and you'll stay here. In fact, there's a change in plans." Madara said, confusing Zetsu. "We're not moving to Amegakure, but to Otogakure. I'll be moving our new partners there. When your other half arrives, you will go after Kisame and bring the Eight-Tails to the new hideout. Your other half will be guarding Sasuke. Tell him to watch out for visitors."

"Alright, Tobi." White Zetsu nodded, but he had a frown on his face. "May I ask you why don't we just leave this hideout and take Sasuke for the new one?"

"Because many of our new members are anti-Sasuke. I still have to talk with them about him." Madara explained. "The other reason is that, considering Konoha's movements lately, I'm hoping the Nine-Tails brat could be one of our visitors. To catch him, we'll need Sasuke here as a bait. It doesn't hurt to try."

* * *

Ao stared in shock at the size of the two huge demons in front of him, as the Eight Tailed Ox and the shark-like demon started to battle. Chojuro was still out, layed against a tree. "Byakugan" Ao shouted before opening his mouth in awe._ "H-how is this possible? I've never seen such amazing chakras! What the hell is going to happen?" _

**"I knew that Bee should have taken care of you when he had the chance. What are you, Kisame Hoshigaki?"** Hachibi demanded an answer as the two demons locked in a power struggle.

**"Eheheheh, I'm not Kisame." **The shark's demented laugh could easily remember people of the One-Tailed Shukaku. The demon had the same features as a regular shark, expect for the fact it possessed a pair of arms and legs. **"My true name is Samehada. Have you forgotten me, Hachibi? After all, you were once in Kirigakure's possession." **

**"The sword? Explain yourself."** Hachibi asked, but he already had some idea about what was going on.

**"This is my true form. I'm a demon shark that was sealed in a sword by the First Mizukage, but I can merge with the owner of the sword if he's willing to. It's just like your host letting you out!" **Samehada's high-pitched voice made it sound like a banshee.

**"So that's why Samehada is the eighth sword, the one that isn't supposed to be used. Living inside a sword...that should be fun..." **Hachibi mocked Samehada before avoiding her razor teeth that aimed to the the Ox's neck.

**"Don't you dare to mock me, Hachibi! I can't lose this fight, so I'll make sure that you suffer as much as I can dish it out! ****Grand Water Excavation****" **Samehada opened her mouth and blasted a powerful water stream.

"**Lightning Hack**" A lightning stream came from Hachibi's mouth and clashed with the shark's water stream, both nullifying eachother. Samehada rushed towards Hachibi but the bull picked her up with the help of his horns and threw her to the lake. Unfortunately, Samehada bite his shoulder and he was dragged to underwater as well, raising a massive wave.

_"What a colossal battle!" _Ao couldn't believe what he was seeing. Luckily, the wave advanced in the opposite direction to where they were. The power struggle was still continuing underwater with neither side gaining advantage. _"It would be better if I took Chojuro out of here but I can't even breathe right..."_

Hachibi threw Samehada out of the water and buried his horns into the shark's torso, causing her to screech in both pain and fury. The Eight Tailed Ox then compressed a huge amount of black chakra and lightning in his mouth and fired it in Samehada's direction. "**Eight-Tailed Ox Menacing Ball**"

"It's over!" Ao shouted but once again to his shock Samehada didn't even tried to dodge. The demon shark opened her mouth and swallowed the entire beam of black lightning.

**"What did you do?" **The shocked Hachibi asked. He was panting as he used about three quarters of his chakra to finish his opponent.

**"My ability allows me to absorb chakra by swallowing it and then..." **Samehada maniacly laughed, before firing the Menacing Ball back to the Eight Tails who took a direct hit.

_**"The Mist shinobi are...safe..." **_After taking the hit so the blast wouldn't reach Ao and Chojuro, Hachibi's thoughts were broken when he felt the bite of Samehada on his neck, before both of them crashed through the water, raising huge waves.

"Water Style: Water Tornado" The awakened Chojuro shouted and a spinning water vortex formed around him and Ao. The waves were deflected by the barrier and Chojuro fell to his knees as soon as the jutsu ended, panting heavily.

"Are you alright Chojuro?" Ao worriedly asked.

"Yeah...but I'm...almost out of chakra." Chojuro continued to pant.

"Oh no..." Ao whispered as he watched Kisame come in their direction with Killer Bee on his right shoulder.

"_Chojuro got a lot stronger, good for him. They're exhausted but so am I..." _Kisame thought as he tried to decide what to do with both Mist shinobi.

"Ki-Kisame..." Chojuro struggled to get to his feet. "I, I can't let you..."

"You fought well Chojuro, I'm proud of you." Chojuro and Ao stared at Kisame, confused by what he said. "I'm sorry but I have to deliver the Jinchuriki to Madara. It's the only way I can complete my mission."

"Mission? What mission?" Ao asked.

"I won't kill you but I can't let you follow me. Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave" The huge wave that came from Kisame's mouth washed Ao and Chojuro away, before he turned to leave with his prey captured.

* * *

"So you're still alive, huh? You're not the ones that I was looking for but you'll do fine. Let's comeback to our new hideout." Madara said to the two former members of the Akatsuki. Karin took two steps back as she saw the man with the orange mask in front of her.

"Tell us what happened to Sasuke!" Jugo demanded.

"Huh? You know what happened. He fought amazingly against the Kages but eventually lost so I had to take him out of there. I'm sorry that I couldn't take you as well but time was short."

"You were controlling him somehow weren't you?" Jugo continued. Madara thought for a moment.

"And if I did? What are you going to do about it?" Karin shivered and held Jugo's arm. She knew that they weren't a match to the immortal.

"You take us to Sasuke NOW!" Jugo shouted, his fury activating his kekkei genkai that instantly reached the second level.

"Calm down Jugo! We're no match for him." Karin tried to calm down her partner.

"I'LL KILL YOU!

"If you're not helping me then you won't see Sasuke and if you're smart enough you'll stay away from Akatsuki from now on." Madara threatned, while he stared into Jugo's eyes. The charging monster stopped and he turned back to normal as fast as he first transformed. The killing intent released by Madara didn't allow him to move a step. Without any other word, Madara used his space-time jutsu to go away, leaving the terrified Jugo and Karin behind.

* * *

"We're almost there guys." Nawirama told his team. "Do you see something, Hinata?"

"No, not yet." Hinata shook her head, but continued to search with her Byakugan. "Wait! Almost 12 miles to north. I'm seeing somebody's chakra...It's Sasuke's!"

"What?" Naruto stopped to look to his partner. "Are you sure Hinata?"

"Y-yes, it's him but there's no one nearby. He's all alone."

"That's in the Land of Bears." Sakura concluded.

"Pakkun, you know what to do." Nawirama told the ninken.

"I'm on my way Nawirama." Pakkun left to inform Team Asuma.

* * *

"Hm, it seems Kabuto's directions weren't that accurate. Lead us to Team Nawirama, Pakkun."

"Of course, Kakashi. This way!"

"Kakashi-sensei, it looks like they have a trap waiting for us." Shikamaru said to his team leader.

"You're right, Shikamaru. It's too suspicious that Madara would let Sasuke all alone."

"So what do we do?" Ino asked, eager to reach Sasuke's location.

"We'll keep with the original plan but be prepared for every scenario." Kakashi told his partners.

"Here they are!" Choji shouted, pointing in the direction where Team Nawirama was.

"Hey guys! Are you ready for this?" Naruto asked Team Asuma.

"Of course. It's troublesome but whatever." Shikamaru grinned. "We joined together so we could go through the plan again."

"We already know about it." Naruto remembered.

"It's never too much with you. So, listen..." Shikamaru didn't acknowledge Naruto's sulking mood after what he said and quickly repeated what everyone was supposed to do. "We'll keep a distance from you guys, so go always on the same pace. It will be troublesome if we can't reach you."

"Yeah, we know! C'mon guys, we'll get him this time!" Naruto shouted before him and his team followed Hinata's lead.

* * *

"What the hell happened here?" Shi mumbled as he watched the destruction in front of him. Sabu had his mouth wide open and Darui had a strange feeling in his gut.

"Can you find them?" Darui asked.

"I sense two chakras...one is almost gone. This way!" The Cloud shinobis swiftly ran towards the direction where most trees had been destroyed by some sort of Water Jutsu. There they found two shinobi that they recognized from the Kage Summmit. "The Mizukage's bodyguards! What the hell happened?"

"You're from the Cloud... Heal Chojuro first he's the one who fought the most." Shi changed his Healing Jutsu towards the Mist swordsman who was still unconscious. "It was Akatsuki."

"Those bastards!" Darui angrily said. "What happened?"

"We were sent to find the Hachibi's Jinchuriki." Darui and Shi looked at eachother with an apprehensive look. "When we found him he was already engaging Kisame Hoshigaki. We fought together and for a moment we thought we had won but Kisame merged with his sword and turned the tables. Not even the Eight Tailed Ox could beat him."

"They caught Bee..." Darui put a hand on his head, looking in desbelief to the Mist Shinobi while he gave some more details about the battle.

"The Raikage is going to be furious like never before." Sabu remembered, while Shi started to heal Ao. "We have to tell him."

"I'm sorry but we can't go with you. We still need to report this on Konoha." Ao slowly stood as Shi finished the treatment. "I know I'm asking too much but can one of you come with us? Chojuro is in no condition to travel and I don't know if I can take him by myself."

"You go with them, Darui, Sabu. I'll report this to the Raikage." Darui nodded and picked Chojuro over his left shoulder, while Sabu helped Ao to climb to the back of Ponta, the raccoon.

"Go Shi, be quick!" Darui shouted and Shi soon left. _"Kirabi..."_

* * *

"So we'll have new friends eh?" Kisame grinned after Zetsu's white half told him about their new partners.

"I'm not sure about them but oh well...Nonetheless, good job Kisame. Finally we caught him." Zetsu stopped to look to Kisame for a moment. "You're pretty banged up. Was he that strong?"

"It has been awhile since I had to fought in such a way. I had to merge with Samehada to beat him." Kisame sat down against a tree and Zetsu noticed his comrade's irregular breathing. "It's a shame that you can't take more than one person with your jutsu. I could use a ride."

"Take your time Kisame. We won't be able to extract the Bijuu until the kid is ready. Join us later when you feel better." Zetsu picked Killer Bee and a hole opened below him.

"Fine. See ya later Zetsu." Kisame said as Zetsu disappeared. The Mist renegade closed his eyes and sighed while he thought. _"I need to join them quickly. I can't waste my time here or he will..." _Kisame's thought was broken when he felt something going through his chest. His vision started to blur but he still recognized the young man with white hair and sharp teeth standing over him. "I failed...Itachi..."

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Naruto's Chance

-**WIKIA** (from Chapters 18 and 19)

1. Characters:

1.1 Hōmaru - Jugo's older brother, was imprisoned by Orochimaru so he could research on their clan's kekkei genkai. This resulted in his death, by the time Jugo was still a baby.

1.2 Killer Bee - Bee's real name is Kirabi Yotsuki. Killer Bee is the alias he adopted.

2. Jutsu:

2.1 Lightning Style: Lightning Swords - the jutsu responsible to add lightning chakra flow to a weapon, in the shape of a sword.

2.2 Water Style: Underwater Motion Jutsu - the user uses chakra to propel himself underwater. It's a sort of underwater Body Flicker Jutsu.

2.3 Menacing Ball - in this story, the Biju's ultimate jutsu won't be called Tailed Beast Ball, but Menacing Ball like it was previously done. That's because Tailed Beast Ball hints towards the same attack for all Tailed Beasts, while I want each one to have a unique attack. The Eight-Tailed Ox Menacing Ball is composed of the Hachibi's chakra combined with black lightning.

-Nawirama13


	20. Naruto's Chance

Forgot to say in the last Wikia that Kisame Hoshigaki was one of Yagura's students. The other two will be revealed in time.

Here's #20.

* * *

Chapter 20 - Naruto's Chance

* * *

Naruto and the others continued their travel towards the Mountain's Graveyard. It had been awhile since they passed the border and entered in the Land of Bears. Being in a mission to capture members of the S-Rank organization Akatsuki, there shouldn't be a problem with that country's ninjas. Still, they moved cautiously. As the grass on the ground was being less with each step they took, they knew they were almost reaching the mountains and their goal.

"How many miles left Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"About five more, Naruto-kun."

"Nothing happened yet. This kind of situation is just like Naruto, if he's quiet then something is wrong..." Shikamaru stated, while his team kept a considerable distance from Team Nawirama. "Kakashi-sensei..."_  
_

"What is it, Shikamaru?" Kakashi questioned.

"Hinata has confirmed that Sasuke is alone. Therefore, we could forget the plan and just barge into their hideout and take him." Shikamaru suggested. "Besides, the longer we move, the closer we get to the mountains, which means less vegetation and less cover for us."

"So, you're actually willing to take the risk?" Kakashi asked, before Shikamaru sighed and reluctantly nodded. "It's true that the field doesn't favor us, so we may as well act faster. We'll join Team Nawirama and move into the Mountain's Graveyard. Even if that Zetsu appears, Hinata should be able to notice him before he tries something. Let's move!"

"Even if that guy appears, everything seems to point out that he's only a scout, so...everything should turn out fine." Shikamaru tried to convince himself. Some meters ahead, a yellow eye blinked in the trunk of a tree.

**_"So Madara was right...We have visitors." _**Black Zetsu thought as he saw the two Konoha teams merging once again.** _"To be travelling separated, they obviously had a plan. They're abandoning it to rush to the hideout, since that girl saw Sasuke was alone. Too bad that the Byakugan can't catch me..."_**

"Oh, that idea is so much better!" Naruto complimented Kakashi and Shikamaru's decision. All listened to Shikamaru and Sakura trying to scold Naruto, except for Hinata who was staring to the ground. "Full speed ahead then!"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata charged towards him and pushed him down as half a dozen roots were about to hit him from below.

"Th-thanks." Naruto said, after both of them stood.

"So you were still around...Zetsu." Kakashi spoke while he sliced the roots with a kunai of his. Shortly after, Zetsu appeared in front of them, both his halves united. Strangely, there was no sign of the two large venus fly-trap like extensions that usually enveloped his head and upper body.

"**Kakashi and the Kyuubi boy... The girl who defeated Sasori is here as well. Plus, the kids who fought Hidan and Kakuzu." **Zetsu then pointed towards the boy from the Nara clan.** "You're the one who defeated Hidan, all by yourself. That's an impressive feat you achieved, boy...And the Hyuga girl, I remember seeing her near the place where Sasuke killed Itachi**."

"What a drag...We can't even use our plan now, the guy already found us." Shikamaru sighed. "To make things worse, he appears to know everything about us."

**_"And I have the field advantage...barely." _**Zetsu silently added. **_"If they joined a bit later, I wouldn't be able to face them. The rocky fields don't favor my techniques."_**

"Where is Sasuke? Answer me, you freakin' aloe weirdo!" Naruto furiously shouted.

"**Sasuke's resting in the hideout. You won't get to him boy.**"

"That's what we'll see!" Naruto created a shadow clone, who in turn created a Rasengan, while both were running towards the Akatsuki. Before they could get to him, Nawirama stopped the real Naruto by taking a hold of his right wrist.

"Stop Naruto!" Nawirama ordered. "You know the orders, you're not going to fight."

"Let me go!" Naruto shouted.

"Everything seems to point towards the fact that he's a scout, which means that he's likely weak in direct combat. Therefore, he must have some sneaky tricks to avoid getting involved in a fight. By that, I mean capturing his opponent before he can land a hit." Nawirama pointed to his left side and Naruto stared into the roots that had erupted from the ground earlier. "See what I mean? Then, he's an Akatsuki member, which means he's highly skilled in what he does. If you rush blindly, you'll be captured for sure and we don't want that, now do we?"

"Nope..." Naruto stared down in defeat.

"Can I let you go?" Naruto nodded and Nawirama released the grip. "Kakashi and I will fight. We can't risk losing you."

"**Eh, that's what we'll...**" Zetsu stopped as he felt Kakashi's kunai against his throat and saw the Kakashi in front of him disappear in a puff of smoke. Behind Kakashi, there was a hole on the ground, hinting that the Copy Ninja had been hiding underground the entire time. "**A Shadow Clone? When?**"

"It was hard to believe that Sasuke would be alone. Shikamaru there, the boy that defeated Hidan, had considered the hypothesis of you being able to conceal your chakra, since you've been seen using chakra suppressed spores. He also considered that if someone was guarding Sasuke, it would be you. So when we were making plans, he considered two scenarios..." Kakashi explained. "The first, where you would confront the first group, like we wanted. He devised a capture plan that could be used whether it was you that appeared or any other of your comrades."

"The moment Hinata saw only Sasuke, we knew it would be you who would appear. Then, there's what Nawirama said. While he don't know your abilities for sure, we can assume what is their purpose. We knew that you're a scout and that you would learn we were moving separated. That way it would be difficult for you to try to stop us, so..." Shikamaru continued. "...we forced a second scenario, one that is specially directed towards you. We joined both teams, making it easier for you to act and, therefore, to appear."

"My clone would serve a purpose for either scenario. In this one, he just had to stay there while you were focused on Naruto's antics, so that I could move underground to get you." Kakashi spoke again, causing Zetsu to stare back to the Jinchuriki, who supported a large grin. "Yes, Naruto's attempt to attack you was a feint."

"**That conversation you had earlier with that boy...that was staged too!**" Zetsu angrily stated.

"Of course. That was the trigger to change to scenario 2. We knew there was the chance you could be hearing, so it would actually deceive you. I see it did." Shikamaru smirked.

"**I see...but you're missing a few points.** **You don't know my abilities, so how can you be so sure that I wasn't expecting Kakashi to appear from below?**" Zetsu's face supported a smirk as well. Seeing that, Hinata instinctively looked to the ground.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Hinata shouted, causing Kakashi's opened eye to widen. He took a step back at the last second, avoiding the roots that erupted from the space between him and Zetsu. While he slashed through them with the kunai, Zetsu appeared from his left side.

"**I know everything that happens in the land. Me being deceived by your actions, was my way of deceiving you!**" Zetsu shouted, after kicking Kakashi away.

"Shit! Scenario 3...Shadow Possession Jutsu" Shikamaru's shadow stretched towards the Akatsuki spy but he moved behind the wall of roots, with Shikamaru's shadow connecting with theirs. Zetsu then ran towards the Nara young man, by the side of his stretched shadow.

"**I know how your jutsu works. You can only change the shape of the shadow or divide it from its tip!**" Zetsu stated, while he prepared for a new attack.

"You wouldn't think I'm that weak, would you?" Shikamaru actually seemed disappointed by Zetsu underestimating him. The stretched shadow divided itself into many protrusions that connected with Zetsu's shadow, before the tip, as the spy called it, connected as well. "Got you."

"**Tsk, you wouldn't think the same of me, right?**" Zetsu smirked in defiance. "**Your jutsu may control my movements, but can it control movements that aren't shown in the shadow?**"

"Nope, it can't. That's why you're allowed to speak. But..." Shikamaru shook his head as he saw Zetsu merging with the ground to escape via Mayfly Jutsu. "...you're still underestimating us!"

"Partial Expansion Jutsu" Choji's arms and hands grew and he used them to grab Zetsu's upper body, while his lower body was already underground.

_**"Grrr...What is that idiot doing?"**_ Zetsu thought.

"I got him!" Choji shouted, as Zetsu's struggle was being useless.

"Good work, Choji!" Ino complimented, before joining her hands together in the characteristic hand seal from her clan. "Time for some mind changing..."

"Oh, it is time alright!" White Zetsu made himself heard as he wrapped Choji's body out of nowhere and started to absorb his chakra.

"Oh no, he caught...What the hell?" Ino screamed desperately, as a white substance that seemed like White Zetsu's body started to grow in her hands. The same started to happen to the other Konoha shinobi, with Nawirama and Kakashi being the first to get rid of their respective parasites. Then, they saw the white part of Zetsu's body fall to the ground and then being replaced by the original one that had just finished absorbing Choji's chakra. As soon as the real White Zetsu merged with his other half, the venus flytrap emerged from their body.

"Wooo! That was nice!" White Zetsu commented, the two different colored halves seemingly invigorated.

"**You took too long!**" Black Zetsu quickly scolded his other half, before aiming a kick to the fallen Choji. Nawirama made use of his speed to catch the Akimichi before Zetsu could hit him.

"When did you split?" Kakashi asked, after both Nawirama and Choji were at a safe distance.

"**Many hours ago. I've been using one of our clones' structure to look like our original form.**"

"And I just came back." White Zetsu added. "We were really needing this chakra boost after our hard work in these past few days."

"Choji, are you alright?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, but I'm a little hungry." Choji answered, before he swallowed a soldier pill to replenish his chakra.

"Stay back guys! Nawirama and I will take care of him." Kakashi told the younger shinobi, while he lifted his headband to show his left Sharingan eye.

"**Only two? Good, we should be able to hold you long enough for Madara to reach here and take Sasuke away.**"

"I don't know...Wasn't he going to the Land of Water? That's quite a distance..." White Zetsu argued with his other half.

"The Land of Water?" As soon as they heard Naruto's question, both Konoha Jounins and Shikamaru stared to the Jinchuriki who darted forward. _"This is my chance!" _

"No Naruto, wait! It's a trap!" Nawirama shouted but Naruto didn't turn back. He took the oppurtunity to pass by Zetsu and run in the hideout's direction. "Kakashi!"

"Go! Shikamaru and I will take care of him. Ino, Choji, stay here! We may need your help. The others, go!" Kakashi ordered before turning his attention to the Akatsuki member.

"Be careful!" Sakura told her friends before Team Nawirama turned to follow Naruto.

"**You're too many to go!**" More roots emerged from the ground and started to reach closer to Sakura.

"Protection of Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms" Hinata blocked and destroyed all the roots, before both girls continued the pursuit.

"We are your opponents!" Kakashi stated, as he and Shikamaru intercepted Zetsu who was about to follow Team Nawirama.

"There are more ways to follow them." Zetsu said as he was about to merge with the ground again.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu" Shikamaru shouted from behind the Akatsuki, as the fake Shikamaru turned into a puff of smoke. Unlike the last time, the angle of the shadow wouldn't let Zetsu disappear into the ground.

"**Another of your Shadow Clones, Kakashi?**" Zetsu angrily asked.

"No, this one was from Shikamaru himself. Already making use of the Hokage's library?" Shikamaru only grinned to Kakashi's question. A surge of Lightning chakra appeared in the Copy Ninja's right hand, before he ran towards his opponent and drove his trademark jutsu into his chest.

* * *

"Finally, all done!" Shikaku shouted as he ended the pile of paperwork that Shizune brought him earlier.

"Finally, lunch break!" Choza shouted. The new Jounin Commander had been waiting for Shikaku to end his job, so they could go to Yakiniku Q, the famous barbecue restaurant. "I was getting so, so hungry!"

"Like always..." Shikaku grinned and raised himself from his chair. To his surprise, Shizune entered the office, almost without breath.

"Ho-Hokage-sama...we have trouble!" Shizune managed to say.

"Oh no!" Shikaku and Choza both said at the same time. "First I'm told about the kidnap of the Iwa kunoichi and then all this paperwork because of the Chunin Exams...What could've happened now?"

"Ao and Chojuro have been taken to the hospital! They met Kisame..." Shizune revealed to both members of the original InoShikaCho trio.

"And the Hachibi's host?" Choza asked.

"He beat them all. The Raikage's men arrived at the battlefield but Kisame already had left with Killer Bee. Two of them brought Ao and Chojuro here while the other went back to report to the Raikage."

_"Poor guy...I would never want to be on his shoes when he tells what happened to that troublesome Yotsuki..."_

* * *

"WHAT?" Ë raised from his chair, punching the table with his only hand, breaking it in half. "AND YOU DID NOTHING?" The Fourth Raikage roared as he lifted Shi by the neck.

"W-we couldn't do aa-anything. Ki-Kisame fused with his blade and de-defeated the Hachibi by, by himself...before we g-got there." Shi continued to gasp for air, even after Ë released him.

"Kirabi..." The Raikage fell back into his chair. He couldn't believe that a single man could have defeated the Hachibi by himself.

"The Mizukage's bodyguards assisted Bee in the fight against Kisame. One of them said they could do nothing when he fused with the blade. He said that Kisame turned into a demon shark and absorbed Hachibi's Menacing Ball."

_"That took almost all of his chakra, so Hachibi had no chance..." _Ë finally understood how his brother was defeated and raised to his feet again. _"The shark should be very powerful himself for Hachibi to use that maneuver." _

"What do we do now, Raikage-sama?" Shi asked, while he still rubbed his neck.

"All teams of Chunin and Jounin are to leave to find Akatsuki. When Darui and Sabu come back, you will all come with me to find Kirabi."

"But Rai..."

"THAT'S AN ORDER!" Ë Yotsuki shouted and punched the door in order to leave his office.

* * *

_"Eheh, I'm almost reaching the coast. From there, it won't take long before I'm back in the Land of Water." _Suigetsu thought as he kept on running towards the east maritime border of the Land of Fire. Out of nowhere, a swirling orange pattern appeared and Madara Uchiha emerged from it. "You! Wha-what do you want?"

"So, in my way to find the remaining Mist Swordsmen, I come across something unexpected...The sword that you're wielding doesn't belong to you my boy." Madara said to the former Mist shinobi, as he pointed to the bandaged sword on Suigetsu's back.

"Now it does. I killed Kisame, therefore Samehada belongs to me." Suigetsu explained.

"I know how the sword works, but since you decided to remember me, I should remember you that you have a debt to pay to me." Madara calmly said.

"W-What do you mean?" A surprised but also afraid Suigetsu asked.

"You killed one of my most important pawns and for that I should kill you right now." Suigetsu took two steps back as Madara shortened the distance between them. "If you don't want me to do it, join me back in Akatsuki."

"Join you? Why should I?" Suigetsu regretted what he said as Madara continued to shorten their distance. "I mean...you and Sasuke left us to die in the summit." Madara finally stopped to Suigetsu's relief.

"We were out of time and needed to leave immediately. I'm surprised that you survived but that's not why I'm here for. I'm giving you a chance to live boy, so you better tell me if you're with me or not." Madara demanded.

* * *

"Where is he, Hinata?" Sakura asked.

"He's not far. We're almost getting to him." A sad Hinata answered. She was afraid that something would happen to Naruto. Nawirama said nothing since they left Team Asuma behind. Sakura and Hinata took some looks at him from time to time and he always seemed like he was thinking at multiple things at the same time. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Sakura, Hinata, you're coming back to help Team Asuma. I'll take care of this now." Nawirama ordered to his partners.

"But you need our..." Sakura couldn't complete her sentence.

"I'm your team leader and you are to follow my orders!" Nawirama shouted with an angry look on his face. "Sakura, tell me what is taught in the academy regarding a team leader."

"Huh?" Sakura seemed surprised at first, but then frowned and stared down. "Whatever the situation, in order to keep the team together, one person gives the orders. That is why we have the rule that states team members must obey the team captain."

"Do you understand, then? I've made my choice. I've issued my orders. Go." Nawirama ordered once again. _"Sorry girls. I know how you feel but I can't let you get hurt. If I'm right..."_

"Grrr...alright. Let's go Hinata." The upset Sakura said as she was getting ready to turn back.

"No!" Sakura stared in shock at Hinata and Nawirama's expression changed to a surprised one for a second. She had her fists clenched and was shaking in fury.

"I know that you want to help him Hinata but I..."

"In the ninja world, those who don't follow the rules are scum, but those who leave their friends behind are even worse scum!" Hinata shouted and Nawirama's angry expression completely faded.

"Wh-where did you heard that Hinata?" Sakura asked, as she remembered the one occasion when she heard those words.

"Kakashi-sensei told Naruto and Sakura this in their first training together. I was watching that the entire time and that's something I'll never forget!" Hinata told Nawirama. "I don't care what you want me to do, I won't leave Naruto behind."

_"I completely agree with that but this is no regular situation. All these kids are great shinobi and they all had great teachers but they are nowhere near the level of what we're about to face. Maybe not even Naruto. Maybe not even me..." _Nawirama lowered his head to think for awhile. After a moment, he reached Sakura and whispered something to her. She looked at him and was about to disagree but eventually nodded and went back to where they came from.

"Sakura will go back to help Team Asuma. You'll come with me Hinata but under the condition that you'll do whatever I tell you. Do you agree?" Hinata thought for awhile and hesitantly nodded, causing Nawirama to sigh. "Good. I really don't like to play the bad guy."

"You, you were faking that?" Hinata asked as they resumed their pursuit for Naruto.

"I was expecting you to go back if I played that I was mad but you didn't fall for that." Nawirama smiled at her.

"But why?"

"Can you imagine how Naruto would feel if something happens to either one of you?" Hinata stared at Nawirama before lowering her head. She remembered how Naruto reacted when Pain almost killed her and almost let the Kyuubi get loose. "I wouldn't let you come if you hadn't said what you said. I completely agree with that and my respect for you turned up a notch." Nawirama stopped to think for a moment. "I'll let you know something that I only told Kakashi and I expect you to keep this secret as well."

* * *

"What the-" Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw that his Lightning Blade didn't go through Zetsu's body.

"My upper body is protected by a Venus Flytrap. It's a perfect armor!" White Zetsu hysterically laughed.

"So there's no way to hurt him?" Choji asked to his partners.

"Shadow Sewing Jutsu" After a quick Rat-Bird hand seal combination, Shikamaru changed the shape of the shadows that connected him and Zetsu into sharp tendrils that tried to stab the spy from above. Unfortunately, Zetsu countered by closing the flytrap. "Drag...my shadows won't go through it!"

"Then below!" Kakashi shouted as he aimed a new Lightning Blade to Zetsu's legs. As the lightning surge cut through the cloak, it didn't go any further. The Copy Ninja saw that the flytrap had just grown to protect Zetsu's entire body. _"So it's not part of his body, but some kind of jutsu that can be changed to fit the situation."_

"Let me try. Mind Distraction Jutsu" Ino targeted her opponent but nothing happened. "Why doesn't it work?"

"Ahahah, too bad blondie!" White Zetsu's voice came from inside the flytrap. "Your clan's jutsu isn't so easy to perform on someone whose mind is divided in two, right?"

"I see..." Ino realized what happened and showed a nervous smile, after remembering being crushed by Inner Sakura when she tried to possess her best friend during the Chunin Exams.

"Then we need to open it!" Choji swallowed a green pill and his right fist got way bigger, with chakra surrounding it. He threw a punch to the flytrap but the thing didn't even crack. "Aaaargh!"

"Choji!" Both Shikamaru and Ino shouted as they saw Choji's fist returning to its normal size, with the Akimichi immediately rubbing it in pain.

"**You can get as strong as you want by eating those pills, it doesn't matter. Not even Tsunade can break this armor.**" Zetsu informed. Choji jumped back to the side of his partners, with Ino coming closer to him.

"It's broken." Ino quickly realized. "How hard is that thing?"

"Ahahah, with us hidden inside, that boy can't use his shadows to stop us from making hand seals...Secret Art: Strangling Ivy" The ivies erupted from the ground, binding the three original members of Team Asuma. The tight constriction made Shikamaru lose control over the shadows, allowing Zetsu to walk again.

"Even though you seem to prefer to fight like we thought, your fighting style is still quite peculiar. It seems like the best way to fight is...Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu" Kakashi performed some seals before spitting a volley of small fireballs, while he drew a scroll from one of his pockets. _"Control over plants, a resistant flytrap...How is it possible? To create sources of life...no, it can't be that. The clans who use similar techniques, like the Flower Ninja Arts, do it by using Wind chakra to sharpen and transport the plants. He hasn't created anything from his own body yet, so maybe..."_

"Secret Art: Seed Barrage" Chakra enhanced bulb bullets came from both of Zetsu's palms and clashed against Kakashi's fireballs. The fireballs consumed the bulbs but didn't reach the Akatsuki member.

_"Ok, so he actually creates life from his own body. And the way he merges with the ground doesn't seem like a Earth Style jutsu..." _Kakashi rushed towards Zetsu and tried to cut him with his kunai but ivies came from Zetsu's right sleeve and wrapped Kakashi's wrist. Zetsu then launched some more seeds but the Water Clone dispersed with Zetsu getting all wet.

"**Water Clone? He must have used that scroll to summon water..." **

"He's fast! I didn't saw him activating it." Zetsu turned and saw the original Kakashi in midair, charging another lightning surge.

"Here! Lightning Style: Lightning Hound" Kakashi launched the surge of lightning, shaping in the form of a hound. The Lightning chakra disconnected from Kakashi's hand, so that the chakra bullet would be faster. Zetsu's eyes widened at the speed of the projectile. Instead of closing the flytrap, the strange being separated in its two different colored parts. The Lightning Hound continued to move however, and in the direction of the paralyzed members of Team Asuma. _"Damn it! There's no way I can stop it!"_

"It's getting this way!" Ino shouted before closing her eyes.

"Done!" Shikamaru was finally able to cut through the ivies that were wrapping him with Asuma's Trench Knives and performed a set of seals. Shikamaru spat a large amount of water that formed a water pillar that surrounded them and blocked the lightning creature. The Lightning chakra enveloped the entire water structure, before all the liquid collapsed to the ground. _"It wasn't too big but it was enough to save us."_

"That was great Shikamaru!" Choji complimented his best friend, while Shikamaru freed him and Ino. "Where did you learn that?"

"In a scroll that was on the Hokage's library written by the Second itself. I took it and trained this jutsu after leaving my dad's office and then continued last night. Unfortunately, it's still too small." Shikamaru explained as he stared back into the battlefield. Kakashi was facing both of Zetsu's halves in a Taijutsu battle. Due to the numerical disadvantage, Kakashi was losing as fatigue was getting to him. "Choji you stay here and protect Ino. I'll help Kakashi."

"You'll need help, Shikamaru." Choji disagreed and reached for something in his pocket.

"Damn it, Choji! Your hand is broken! You won't be able to help." Shikamaru countered, while he watched the battle between Kakashi and Zetsu. _"A scout that isn't afraid of close battle, since he can outnumber and tire his opponent easily. Kakashi forced him into close battle to have the advantage but it backfired."_

"Wait, Shikamaru. I will go then." Ino protested.

"No! You're our medical-nin and you need to stay out of Zetsu's reach. Choji, don't let her go!" Shikamaru ordered. Kakashi put some Lightning Chakra in his blows and they seemed to get more effective. When Shikamaru almost decapitated White Zetsu with one of Asuma's Trench Knives, both halves backed off.

"Those blows you delivered seem to be effective. What was that?" Shikamaru asked.

"I saw the Raikage use Lightning Chakra to improve his already great Taijutsu when we were in the Land of Iron. Unfortunately, I wasn't focused on that at the time, so I'm doing it the wrong way. The damage should be a lot greater." Kakashi explained.

"I have an idea." Shikamaru immediately said and whispered it to his partner.

"**You almost lost your head there!**" Black Zetsu angrily scolded the white one.

"I know, let's get back to our original form." White Zetsu merged with his black half once again. When Zetsu looked up he only saw Kakashi performing some hand seals. "Where's the shrimp?"

"Up here!" Zetsu looked up and saw a dozen of Shikamarus above him.

"Shadow Clones? Easy..." Roots appeared from the ground and swiftly stretched up to the sky, destroying all the clones who didn't disappear but transformed into water that fell upon Zetsu.

"_**Water Clones again?**_" With the distraction, Zetsu almost didn't close his flytrap in time, as the real Shikamaru tried to decapitate him once again.

"Now, Kakashi!" Shikamaru got out of the way and Kakashi rushed towards his opponent.

"Lightning Blade" The lightning surge collided against the flytrap that after a moment cracked and was completely destroyed. Zetsu quickly backed up in shock.

"Our perfect defense! How?"

"I saw how the blows that Kakashi hit you with were connecting. He wasn't using it the right way, but they still did more damage than they should. Then I remembered that you were wet from Kakashi's Water Clone from earlier." Shikamaru explained to his opponent. "As you should know, water conducts electricity. So I poured a lot of water upon you and forced you to close your flytrap so that Kakashi could destroy it with his Lightning Blade."

"**It takes time to prepare a resistant flytrap like that one...You'll pay for this brat!**" Zetsu divided once again and both rushed towards the Konoha shinobi.

"_They're faster! That thing was slowing down their movements." _Kakashi thought as he battled Black Zetsu.

_"What a drag! I'm not a Taijutsu user!" _Shikamaru thought as he dodged another kick from White Zetsu and tried to hit him with the Trench Knives. Shikamaru threw one knife to his opponent's shadow, but he dodged.

"Shadow Possesion Shuriken Jutsu...I already saw that, you idiot!" White Zetsu was so focused in insulting his opponent, that he gave the chance to Shikamaru to get in range to cut his head off, but Black Zetsu used his ivies to take his other half into a safe distance. Kakashi tried to cut off the black half's arm but White Zetsu launched seeds to send Kakashi back.

"**Hey! This has gone for long enough! Let's end it!**" Black Zetsu literally ordered the other half, who also seemed to be furious.

"Secret Art: Seed Barrage" White Zetsu fired the bulbs into the air, allowing Black Zetsu to hit them with the roots, making them faster. Kakashi and Shikamaru avoided most of them, but then were hit by some of the ivies, receiving some light cuts on their arms and faces.

"_The roots...they were poisoned!" _Kakashi realized almost instantly, as he stumbled and his vision was starting to blur.

"**Now to fini...**" Black Zetsu's head suddenly jerked up and turned to his other half who nodded. They joined together before disappearing underground.

"Shikamaru! Kakashi-sensei!" Choji and Ino rushed to help their partners as both fell to the ground.

"They've been poisoned!" Ino said after making a quick checkup on them.

"Can't you extract the poison, Ino?" Choji nervously asked after seeing the look on her face.

"I, I can but this is a very lethal one. I...I only have time to save one of them." Ino revealed, with tears rolling down her face.

"Oh no..." Choji fell to his knees.

"Hey guys..." Both quickly approached Kakashi as he called them with a very weak voice. "Save...Shikamaru..."

* * *

**Next Chapter -** Mountain's Graveyard

-Nawirama13


	21. Mountain's Graveyard

**Author's Note:** Just published my second story "Bleach: Everything is Obtained". Check it when you can!

* * *

Chapter 21 - Mountain's Graveyard

* * *

Shizune was seated by the side of Tsunade's bed. She was taking advantage of a more than deserved break that Shikaku gave her to visit her mentor. Those last two days were really taking a toll on her. In the first day of Shikaku's reign as Hokage, Shizune rushed to the hospital to help in the treatment of now fellow Jounin, Iruka Umino. Almost every single one of his ribs was broken and the muscle tissues surrounding them were damaged as well. Shizune healed the injuries and made her best to shorten his stay in the hospital.

Today, the second day, she was interrupted during lunch to once again help with the injured. Ao and Chojuro were brought to the hospital by a pair of Kumogakure shinobi: the dull Darui and the infamous Sabu. The Kirigakure allies had been injured in a fight against Akatsuki's Kisame Hoshigaki. Ao had some broken ribs and managed to reach Konoha on his feet but fainted as he also had an internal bleeding that wasn't healed by the hurried Kumo Medical-nin, Shi. Chojuro was yet in worse shape, almost drained of chakra and with some high degree burns from an electric shock.

However, it wasn't fatigue Shizune's biggest problem. What troubled her the most were Team Kakashi and Team Nawirama, because of the lack of news from their part. She walked to the window and stared at the blue sky_. "Nawirama-niichan...please come back quickly."_

"Shizune..." The Hokage's assistant quickly turned as she heard a familiar and weak voice.

"Ts-Tsunade-sama!"

* * *

"Yeah, this should be the right place. Based on Hinata's directions and the relation made by Kakashi-sensei, I should be near the Devil's Ravine." Naruto remembered his only mission to the Land of Bears. He had fell once into the ravine filled with poisonous gas, but was at the time saved by Sumaru's mother, Natsuhi. From where he was, he could see some clouds of that gas and even smell it.

"I could never forget that stench. That must mean I'm in Berserker's Valley. Now, what could be suspicious enough to be an hideout?" Naruto thoughtfully asked to himself. As he ran across the valley for awhile, he started to find bones scattered across the rocky ground. A few more minutes and he was now in the presence of entire skeletons of giant animals.

"This is creepy...It's just like a graveyard." Naruto stated as he advance a bit more. Then, at a lower level of the valley, he found what seemed to be a skeleton of a dinosaur. Naruto however, couldn't associate the bone structure to said being. As he looked curiously to the cranium of the beast, he noticed what seemed to be a staircase inside its mouth. "That seems suspicious enough. I'm just about to get you back, Sasuke."

* * *

"I can't believe! You're awake! Thank Kami! Thank Kami!" Shizune rushed to the side of Tsunade and quickly started a checkup. "I can't believe it! So many things have ha..." Shizune stopped talking as she felt a strong grip on her wrist. She looked to the fragile looking Fifth Hokage who was looking at her as well. _"She just woke up from a coma and already has her strength back?"_

"Shizune...what day...is it today?" Her voice didn't match with the strength of her grip. It sounded weak and she was taking long breaths between her words.

"I-it's Saturday, Tsunade-sama."

"Did you do...what I asked you before I...before I summoned Katsuyu... to heal the victims of Pain?" Tsunade asked, always staring to Shizune.

"Yes, every week I bought a random lottery ticket with your money as you asked." Shizune took that week's ticket and showed it to Tsunade.

"Good girl...bring me today's newspaper."

"Here it is, Tsunade-sama." Shizune looked at her expectantly as Tsunade compared the numbers in the ticket with those on the newspaper.

"Oh no..." Tsunade looked to the window, while Shizune checked the lottery numbers. Tsunade won...

* * *

"Sasuke! Where the hell are you?" Naruto shouted as he finished walking down the staircase. He quickly walked into the front chamber of the underground cave, which was also the largest one. After reaching the center and shouting a bit more, someone appeared through a swirl pattern. "You..."

"I commend you on finding the Mountain's Graveyard. It seems not even the Devil's Ravine is good enough to stop you." Madara complimented the young Jinchuriki.

"I came by the other side. I had someone to find me this place. I just had to follow directions." Naruto seemed angry as he spoke to the leader of Akatsuki. "Weren't you supposed to be in the Land of Water?"

"Oh? So let me see...You were with one or more people and still you chose to barge into a S-ranked organization's hideout, all by yourself, just because you learned I wasn't here?" Madara asked in a provoking tone. "You've underestimated Zetsu's communication skills. We warned me of your arrival just moments ago. It went all...like we planed."

"Damn you!" Naruto realized Zetsu's words weren't a mistake on his part.

"Still, I was expecting you to bring a few with you. I don't know what to call you...brave or stupid?" The masked one continued to provoke.

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto shouted, while his eyes' pupils turned from blue to red.

"Yes, those are some good eyes!" Those same eyes widened a bit, as Naruto noticed a bit of excitement in Madara's words. "If the Kyuubi comes out, I win! If you simply start to transform, I win! Even if you don't, I'll win! Those eyes of yours against this eye of mine...the result is more than decided!"

"Grrr..." Naruto forcefully stopped himself from shaking and his eyes turned back to normal. What surprised Naruto the most, was how fast that happened._ "That was easier than before...Is it because of dad reinforcing the seal?"  
_

"It seems you don't understand." Naruto's head jerked up as Madara spoke again. "The Kyuubi's chakra is intimately linked to its will. A weaker seal means that its easier to access to its chakra and, therefore, to the Kyuubi's will. However, its malicious will is just too powerful and it ends up influencing its host. That's the cause of the appearance of an undesired Tailed Beast Cloak. If you understood what I told you, then you should know why it's easier...your Eight Trigrams Seal has been reinforced."

"You even know which seal was placed on me?" Naruto frowned.

"Oh yes, I know. It's one of the best Sealing Jutsus there is, as much as I hate to admit it. It's a seal from the Hyuga Clan. I still haven't realized how your father was able to learn it..." Madara chuckled as he saw the shocked look on Naruto's face. "Oh? Wasn't I supposed to know that?"

"For you to know about my seal and about my father...It was really you! You were the one who controlled the Kyuubi on that night!" Naruto accused the Akatsuki leader, who shook his finger.

"Wrong. It wasn't me who was controlling it, but..." Madara stopped shaking his finger. "...I know who did."

"Who?" Before Naruto's question could be answered, Zetsu emerged from the ground, with an unconscious Sasuke over his shoulder. Naruto's former partner had bandages wrapped around his eyes, something that was confusing the Jinchuriki. "Hey! Sasuke!"

**"Madara-sama, I'll take him now."**

"Very well, Zetsu." Madara stared at him for awhile before he continued. "I told you to delay them, not to fight them directly. You're not a fighting type. You know that."

"I think I got a bit too thrilled." Zetsu admitted.

"That jutsu of yours would have been enough...You took a huge risk. For you to come back without your flytrap..."

"Kakashi destroyed it with the help of the kid who defeated Hidan. At least they won't be around for long after our little battle."

"What the hell did you do to Kakashi and Shikamaru, you freakin' aloe bastard!" Naruto shouted to the Grass-nin.

"Aloe?" The indignant white half asked.

**"Oh how rude of me...I didn't see that you had a guest Madara-sama." **Black Zetsu ironically spoke, before turning to Naruto, while he returned back to underground. **"A poison created by myself is running through their veins right now. They should be dead by now." **

"Sasuke!" Naruto still shouted but to no avail as both were gone. "You guys will pay for this!"

"You should just surrender boy." Madara stared at him for a moment. "You know that is impossible for you to beat me and I'll tell you something that might convince you. Kisame just caught the Hachibi, you're the last one. If you fight, you'll get caught. If you get caught, we'll extract the Kyuubi, you'll die and my plan will succeed. If you surrender, the same will happen but I'll spare you all the pain you're about to get. So how is it going to be?"

"I'll tell you! I'm not going to die, the Kyuubi ain't going anywhere and you'll get a beating!" Naruto shouted to the masked one.

"I told you before..." Both Madara and Naruto stared at the chamber's entrance and saw Nawirama and Hinata coming in. "...You will only fight as a last option."

"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered, relieved to see that Naruto was alright.

"So Zetsu actually let some get through..." Madara chuckled. "It doesn't matter how many you are. Whatever happens today, I win."

"You shouldn't be here Hinata." Naruto jumped back to his partners' side. "This is too dangerous for you."

"Those who don't follow the rules are scum, but those who leave their friends behind are even worse scum...By the way, seven." Nawirama whispered the last sentence to the Fourth's son who nodded. "I think it was how she said it."

"I...I..." Hinata started to fidget, as Nawirama said the last sentence a bit too loud, so she could hear. "I couldn't leave you behind, Naruto-kun."

"Hinata..." Naruto whispered and smiled to her. Before he could say anything to her, he had to relay the information he learned to his team leader. "Kakashi and Shikamaru have been poisoned. They..."

"Don't worry, Naruto. I sent Sakura back to help them." Nawirama calmly said as he evaluated their opponent. "Zetsu took Sasuke?"

"Yeah. Sasuke had bandages around his eyes. What do you think they did to him?" Naruto worriedly asked.

_"They already gave him his brother's eyes!" _Nawirama thought to himself. "This is when you have to do what I tell you, Hinata. Now you know for sure how to reach the hideout, the natural barriers surrounding this place and who will be our opponent. Go to Team Asuma, tell them what you know and bring them here."

"B-but I, I can't leave you." Hinata turned from Nawirama to Naruto with a pleading look.

"You promised me that you would obey, Hinata." Nawirama remembered the Hyuga girl.

"B-but..."

"Please Hinata, do what Nawirama tells you." Hinata looked down as tears came to her eyes. "I can't fight if I'm thinking that you can get hurt by being here. Please go, Hinata."

"Naruto-kun...be, be careful." Hinata hesitantly said before darting towards the staircase, with tears rolling down her face.

"Love...so beautiful, so sad..." Madara sighed before warping. The swirling pattern appeared in front of Hinata and, as Madara was about to catch her, Nawirama stepped between both of them.

"Go Hinata! Now!" Hinata continued and Madara looked curiously to his new opponent.

"Your speed is really something." Madara complimented the Konoha shinobi. "I've never seen you before, yet you seem so familiar...Who are you, boy?"

"Eh, during all my life, people did everything they could to hide me from danger. Now, I'm in front of arguably the most dangerous man I could ever face..." Nawirama said with a grin. "My name is Nawirama Senju."

"Senju?" Madara stared at him for a moment. "Yes, I can see traces of Hashirama in you. A son that nobody knew Tsunade had?"

"You would end up realizing. I guess..." Nawirama rubbed the back of his head. "...I'm hoping you get a bit overexcited by fighting a Senju and end up lowering your guard."

"Eh, you think that with my experience I'll do something like that?" Madara drew three kunais and threw them towards the still Naruto, stabbing him in the chest. "For instance, you think I would let Naruto enter Sage Mode that easily?"

"Rasengan" As the stabbed Naruto erupted in a puff of smoke, the real Naruto tried to attack Madara from behind but he went through the body of the Akatsuki leader and crashed against the wall. The jutsu originally created by the 4th Hokage caused the stone wall to crumble down on the Jinchuriki, covering him completely under the rubble.

"Naruto!" Nawirama looked away and then glared to his opponent.

* * *

**Flashback**

"Kakashi leading your son's team? Who is leading Naruto's team? Yamato?" Tsunade asked, after Shikaku finished explaining what happened during the time she was unconscious. By that time, she had already used her advanced Transformation Jutsu to look like her 30 year old self. Since neither Shikaku nor Shizune seemed intent on answering her question, Tsunade's legendary temper started to flare. "Will someone tell me what the hell is happening?"

"Tsunade-sama, someone has returned to the village...and that person is leading Naruto and the girls."

"Who, Shizune?" Tsunade stared at her furiously.

"Na-Nawirama-niichan."

**End of Flashback**

"Tsunade! You can't leave the village!" Shikaku shouted as he followed Tsunade into one of the locker rooms of the Jounin station. By the time he entered, she had already changed into her old Konoha attire, flak jacket included, and was about to put on her sandals. "You're the Fifth, damn it!"

"And you're the Sixth, Shikaku. That means I no longer have any obligations towards this village." Tsunade stood and started to fill her pouches with shurikens and kunais. "I need to help them."

_"She's really serious about this! She never used the Konoha attire since she became a Sannin." _Shizune thought, as she appeared behind Shikaku.

"You're wrong about something, Tsunade. You aren't allowed to leave the village." Shikaku cautiously said, knowing that Tsunade could easily put his life in danger. In fact, she immediately glared to him when he spoke. "The reason why I didn't stop you from coming to this station is that you're still one of Konoha's Jounins. Keeping that in mind, I want you to remember that currently I am the Hokage, not you. That means I'm above you in Konoha's hierarchy and you're supposed to follow my orders. When I say you aren't allowed to leave the village, I mean it. If you try to do so, I'll send the other Jounins to capture you for treason."

"Treason?" The shocked Tsunade stared to her successor with her mouth open. "Have you forgotten about the Third's..."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten about that, Tsunade." Shikaku assured. "I know that after the Second War, Sarutobi-sama made a rule that allowed the Sannin to leave the village if they wished to do so, on the condition they did something of benefit to the village during the time they were away. Jiraiya gathered information for the village while he was away, you kept an eye on "we know who" and Orochimaru...well, Sarutobi-sama was just too benevolent."

"Your point?" Tsunade questioned.

"There's none. There's no reason for that rule to keep on existing, since there's only one left." Shikaku pointed towards Tsunade who readied her right fist. "In my power as Sixth Hokage, I'm ending the Sannin Rule."

"Shikaku, you bastard..." Tsunade said lowly, before suddenly punching the lockers through the wall. She then furiously pointed her fist towards the Rokudaime. "I'm giving you a head start of five seconds, Shikaku. You better get away fast or I'll punch a hole through your head."

"_Geez, I knew it would end up like this." _Shikaku thought, but instead of leaving the locker room, he readied a Rat hand seal.

"If what you told me is true, what are you expecting of their mission? You're expecting them to be able to capture Madara Uchiha? To kill him? You're expecting them to retreat safely if he proves too strong? You're expecting him to let them? Madara Uchiha, Shikaku! Damn it, what were you thinking?"

"For someone who kept on scolding the advisers about trusting in the younger generations, you're sounding awfully different. Tell me Tsunade, is it because of your son?" Shikaku's question made Tsunade shake a bit. "Well, Tsunade? My son is there too. You think I'm not worried? Huh? Well, I actually keep on trusting on people, without making exceptions!"

"That's not the point! Not even my grandfather wasn't able to defeat him! You seriously think they're at his level?" Tsunade insisted. "There's nothing they can do!"

"Neither can a weak old woman!"

"What did you say to me, Shizune?" Tsunade angrily grabbed her student by the collar of her kimono.

"You just woke up from a coma. Even if your strength is back, your reflexes and stamina are much worse than they were. Believe me, by the reports we received from Kakashi, getting in front of Madara in your state is the last thing you would want."

"Shizune has a point, Tsunade. You would do more harm than good." Shikaku took the opportunity to connect his shadow to Tsunade's, so he could make the latter release the first. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to do it. _"Phew, it seems Shizune can convince her."_

"You know how strong Nawirama-nii is...and Naruto-kun too. Just trust them, like you usually do." Shizune smiled to her mentor, who after a moment ended up nodding.

"Can you release me, Shikaku? I want to take a seat." Tsunade sincerely asked and Shikaku disconnected both shadows, allowing the Slug Princess to sit down on one of the locker room's benches. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm being selfish."

"I guess I can close my eyes this one time." Shikaku rubbed the back of his head for awhile. "Shizune told me the other day. You haven't seen him in years, right?"

"Because of my...debts..." The upset Tsunade admitted. "He wanted to settle in some place, so he could actually make strong bonds with other people and I...just kept on running from the collectors. I've missed him for so long and now...this idea of having not only him but Naruto too facing Madara...I mean if it was someone else, I know it would be fine, but Madara...losing a son is a terrible experience, you know?"

"A mother is a mother...but it's not like you've lost a son, right?" Shikaku's question was left unanswered and he caught the look both women traded. "Right?"

"Well, I guess there's no point in hiding it any longer and since you're the Hokage now..." Tsunade sighed and turned her attention to Shizune. "I may need some sake to continue..."

* * *

"Damn it, my head..." Naruto slowly stood after getting out of the rocks that were covering him. He looked to the center of the cave's chamber and saw Madara and Nawirama staring at eachother without moving at all. "What are they doing?"

"Very well, boy. You're a great Genjutsu user. I'm impressed." Madara honestly said.

"Eh, you almost tricked me with that second Tsukuyomi." Nawirama admitted, with a drop of sweat rolling down the side of his face. "Couldn't expect less from the first Mangekyo user."

"There's something bugging me though." Madara said, with Nawirama making an unintended swallowing noise. "I think you're aware that the first of the Sharingan's powers is being able to see the flow of chakra. So...can you tell me why you have such a large accumulation of chakra in your eyes?"

_"Oh man, I didn't want to reveal them so soon..." _Nawirama kept his thoughts to himself and smiled. "Are you insinuating I possess some kind of dojutsu? My eyes aren't white nor do they have a spiral pattern and you know better than anyone that I can't possibly be an Uchiha. I guess it's just because I possess large reserves of chakra."

"Hmm, your chakra truly is amazing. I would say as much as Kisame's, which is something unusual." Madara agreed but wasn't totally sure about the eyes. "_He didn't cast a genjutsu to hide them, I would notice it. But still..."_

"What intrigues me is how you use both Tsukoyomi and Kamui with your right eye." Nawirama's words made Madara forget about his doubts. "I thought that each eye had a different Jutsu."

"You're right but you're in front of an Eien no Mangekyo Sharingan." Madara answered. "I guess it doesn't hurt to talk about the past...I used to use Kamui with the right eye and Tsukuyomi with the left when I had only the Mangekyo. With the Eien I can use them with only one eye at my choosing."

"Good for you, or you would have lost the ability to use Tsukuyomi." Nawirama tried to sound friendly, so that Madara would continue to talk. "So..."

"How do you know that I can use Kamui?" Madara suddenly interrupted his opponent.

"_Geez, you're the one who's supposed to talk, not me..." _Nawirama thought. "Well, both are Space-Time jutsus that are exclusive to the Sharingan and act in a swirling pattern. Plus, Kakashi said that he was able to momentarily counter your jutsu with Kamui. It's obvious that they're connected. I guess...that is another feature of the Eien Sharingan, huh?"

"Hmm, yes, you could say it's an upgrade that comes with the Eien. My eyes allow me to use upgrades of the Mangekyo Sharingan's Jutsus, like Fumetsu Kamui and Mugen Tsukuyomi."

"So let me get this straight..."

"Hey kid, aren't you asking too many questions? Don't try to abuse of my good mood." Madara warned the Konoha Jounin who waved his hand.

"Don't be like that, Madara. I mean, when we start the real fight, you'll know instantly what my jutsus are. I'm just trying to gain some advantage." Nawirama tried to convince the Akatsuki leader to continue. "After all, you didn't reveal anything that would compromise you yet. So...since you can use those jutsus from whatever eye you want, does that mean that an Eien Sharingan user can summon two Susanoos?"

"I could never summon two Susanoos because each pair of eyes has an unique Susanoo. Once that is destroyed you can't have another one except if you transplant a new pair of eyes that can use them. Your theory only applies to the other jutsus." Madara then released a not sad but disappointed sigh. "Unfortunately, I was never able to use Susanoo through my eyes, and I lost my brother's when I fought your great-grandfather."

"So the Eien Sharingan user retains his moves and gains the new pair's ones." Nawirama concluded. "Considering you could use your brother's Susanoo, you should also be able to use his Amaterasu then."

"You know, I only spoke about these holy eyes because you won't gain a thing from learning this information, but I'm starting to get annoyed." Madara put his right hand on the side of his own neck, so he could crack it. At the same time, Nawirama lifted his arms and seemed like he was stretching. Then, in a second everything happened. Madara warped and silently appeared behind Nawirama, but the Konoha Jounin swiftly turned and blocked Madara's punch with his right forearm, before Madara backed away.

"That was close." Nawirama whistled.

"_Strange...I made no sound and appeared right behind him. How did he get me?" _Madara asked to himself, while Nawirama stretched his right arm, after the contact. "_Then there's his speed. He was able to block my punch. I didn't even have time to become intangible and launch a counter-attack."_

"Hey, go easy on me. I haven't been in a fight for a long time." Nawirama asked, but Madara didn't like the tone of his voice. He warped again and appeared from Nawirama's right side. As he expected, Nawirama turned and attacked him with a punch, but Madara was able to become intangible. Then, when both were back to back, Madara put his left hand on the floor for support and attempted a spinning kick with his right leg, but Nawirama countered in the exact same way.

"You have some fast reactions. I'll give you that." Madara complimented his opponent as both backed away from each other, with Nawirama standing with his back towards Naruto and Madara right in front of him. That allowed Madara to realize what was going on. "How dare you? You were tricking me with those questions!"

"Huh?" Nawirama realized that Naruto was behind him a bit too late, only after Madara warped. "_Damn, the vision field is already decreasing! Can I reach him in time?"_

"Brat!" To Naruto's shock, Madara got him by his neck. "As much as both of you try, I won't let you enter Sage Mode!"

"Shadow Clone..." Naruto was able to create a clone between himself and Madara and kick him forward, but Madara became intangible, releasing the original Naruto and letting the clone stumble through him. By the time Madara grabbed Naruto again, Nawirama stepped on the clone's back and tried to hit a jumping spinning wheel kick from Madara's right side, but the Sharingan user grabbed his opponent's leg with his free hand and slammed him against the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki, sending both crashing against the wall.

"Damn, I was so close!" Naruto complained, as he got back up.

"I delayed him as much as I could." Nawirama stood as well, but there was a visible difference in him. "I see, this will take some time..."

"_What's up with his eyes?" _Naruto thought.

"To the amount of chakra you possess, it's normal that the puny amount used in a Transformation Jutsu would pass unnoticed." Madara concluded as he saw the new shape of Nawirama's eyes. "You dared to lie to me. You have been using them since the beginning, and an unusual pair too...Zennogan, the eyes of the White Brothers, right?"

"Tss, I told you that you would notice..." Nawirama remembered.

"Those eyes are one more reason why I should kill you. Do you know of what those eyes are made?" Madara seemed in fact angrier.

"Yeah, I know. It's not like I chose to be born with them though." Nawirama in turn seemed upset.

"_Neji told us he had some kind of dojutsu. Is this what he meant?" _Naruto thought as he stared to his team leader.

"Hey, Naruto." Nawirama called the blond boy. "Try to enter Sage Mode, but so you can protect yourself. I'm fighting this one alone."

"Eh, or to try to help you again." Naruto said with a mocking grin.

"Well, it was worth to try Shikamaru's 7th scenario, even if we failed to put you in Sage Mode twice. This time I really want to fight him by myself." Nawirama showed a confident and serious look. "I realized Madara is afraid of Sage Mode, so natural energy must be the best weapon to fight him with."

"One more reason for me to fight him." Naruto insisted.

"Nope. One reason for you to assist me if I'm about to be defeated." Nawirama clarified, while his body started to emit a golden glow. "Adamantine Power: Apala"

"This feeling...It's natural energy!" The surprised Naruto stated.

"Adamantine Power..." Madara snarled, as he saw the glowing Nawirama walking towards him. "This won't be easy after all..."

* * *

"We extracted the poison but you still have some left in your blood. When we come back to the village, we'll create an antidote for it."

"Thank you Sakura, I would be done if you didn't reach us in time." Kakashi sat up and eye smiled to his student before turning serious once again. "But where is Naruto and the others? Did you get to him?"

"Naruto rushed to the hideout. Nawirama and Hinata went after him." Sakura looked down as she explained.

**Flashback**

"In the ninja world, those who don't follow the rules are scum, but those who leave their friends behind are even worse scum!" Hinata shouted and Nawirama's angry expression completely faded.

"Wh-where did you heard that Hinata?" Sakura asked, as she remembered the one occasion when she heard those words.

"Kakashi-sensei told Naruto and Sakura this in their first training together. I was watching that the entire time and that's something I'll never forget! I don't care what you want me to do, I won't leave Naruto behind." Hinata told Nawirama, who lowered his head to think for awhile. After a moment, he reached Sakura and whispered something to her.

"I know that you want to go and find Naruto and Sasuke as well but Team Asuma may need medical help. I don't know if Ino can take care of all of them." Sakura couldn't believe that Nawirama was putting her out of pursuit for her Team 7 partners. "There's another reason why I need you to go back as well. I'm pretty sure that Madara will be there and it will be impossible to avoid battle. If you're not there, Hinata will not have a choice but to obey and leave to bring you and Team Asuma. That way she'll be safe as well."

She looked at him and was about to disagree but eventually nodded and went back to where they came from, his last words ringing in her mind. "Naruto will turn into Kyuubi completely if something happens to you two and then all will be lost..."

**End of Flashback**

_"Hinata has grown so much as well...Kurenai should be very proud of the girl." _Kakashi thought as he raised to his feet. _"So that's what Naruto discovered about his feelings..." _Kakashi sighed and once again turned serious. "Choji, give me and Shikamaru a soldier pill."

"Here, Kakashi-sensei." Choji gave both of them a pill that replenished most of their chakra.

"Do you think that Madara will really appear, Kakashi-sensei?" Ino asked.

"It's a very strong possibility." Shikamaru answered instead. "Zetsu was about to finish us but suddenly disappeared. Perhaps he's there as well."

"If that's true, we can't sit here waiting for Hinata! Naruto may already be fighting them!" Choji quickly raised to his feet.

"Choji's right. I'll summon Pakkun so we can go after them immediately." Kakashi performed the necessary seals. "Summoni..." Kakashi was about to slam his palm into the ground but stopped as he saw a girl appearing in front of them, holding herself against a tree and panting heavily.

"Naruto...Madara...help..." An exhausted Hinata managed to say as she fell to her knees.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** The Uchiha Immortal vs The Last Senju

-Nawirama13


	22. The Burden

Sorry for making you wait for so long. Problems with my computer and an overall lack of time made it difficult for me to update.

The second chapter of Bleach: Everything is Obtained is also out.

* * *

Chapter 22 - The Burden

* * *

"To the amount of chakra you possess, it's normal that the puny amount used in a Transformation Jutsu would pass unnoticed." Madara concluded as he saw the new shape of Nawirama's eyes. "You dared to lie to me. You have been using them since the beginning, and an unusual pair too...Zennogan, the eyes of the White Brothers, right?"

"Tss, I told you that you would notice..." Nawirama remembered.

"Those eyes are one more reason why I should kill you. Do you know of what those eyes are made?" Madara seemed in fact angrier.

"Yeah, I know. It's not like I chose to be born with them though." Nawirama in turn seemed upset.

**Flashback**

The Third World War had ended not so long ago. Peace had just returned. So when the day for Shizune to come back to Konoha to be part of a team of Genin came, everyone expected the arrival of a team of ANBUs to escort her. However, Minato Namikaze, the newly appointed Fourth Hokage, surprised his family by sending his girlfriend Kushina and his student Rin instead of the expected team of assassins. After a not so short conversation between Kushina and Tsunade that involved the discussion of issues such as the search for Orochimaru and the possibility of an engagement between the 4th and the redhead...

"Hey, ma?" The little boy called his mother, shortly after the three girls left their house. "I thought Minato would let me go with Shizune-neechan."

"I've told you before, son. There are dangerous people out there who would come after you." Tsunade supported a sad smile.

"Shinobi are supposed to face danger every time they go on a mission." Nawirama remembered the woman who was a kunoichi herself.

"But you ain't one, now are you?" Tsunade tried to cause one of the usual friendly arguments between them to light him up, but this time he really seemed upset.

"Because you guys don't let me act according to my will." He said dryly, before he walked back to his room. _"Someday they'll see my will...I'll show them my Will of Fire!"_

**End of Flashback**

"Hey, Naruto." Nawirama called the blond boy. "Try to enter Sage Mode, but so you can protect yourself. I'm fighting this one alone."

"Eh, or to try to help you again." Naruto said with a mocking grin.

"Well, it was worth to try Shikamaru's 7th scenario, even if we failed to put you in Sage Mode twice. This time I really want to fight him by myself." Nawirama showed a confident and serious look. "I realized Madara is afraid of Sage Mode, so natural energy must be the best weapon to fight him with."

"One more reason for me to fight him." Naruto insisted.

"Nope. One reason for you to assist me if I'm about to be defeated." Nawirama clarified, while his body started to emit a golden glow. "Adamantine Power: Apala"

"This feeling...It's natural energy!" The surprised Naruto stated.

"Adamantine Power..." Madara snarled, as he saw the glowing Nawirama walking towards him. "This won't be easy after all..."

"Well, it has been some time since I used this jutsu. Let's see if I can control it properly..." Nawirama said more to himself than to the other two individuals present in the cave's chamber. Then, he raised his right hand in the form of a half tiger hand seal. "Body Flicker Jutsu..."

Madara's right eye suddenly increased in size, by seeing that Nawirama had evaporated. Having prior experience in fighting the Adamantine Powers, the former leader of the Uchiha clan immediately activated his intangibility. A tenth of a second later, Nawirama had appeared in front of him and penetrated his intangible body with a punch through the torso. Still, Madara didn't stop. Knowing that he couldn't remain still, the self-proclaimed immortal turned to get away from Nawirama's body and, at the same time, to put himself in position to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick. Madara's foot was less than a inch away from Nawirama's temple when the Jounin disappeared again. A new punch, this time pointed to the back of the Uchiha, passed again through his body without causing any damage. The leader of the Akatsuki turned once more, but stepped back instead of trying a new blow.

"Apala is a jutsu that makes me so mad that you have no idea..." Madara claimed, clearly annoyed. "The collected natural energy spreads throughout your body, providing you an increase in strength, speed and durability, similar to the opening of the first Inner Gates. But to top it off, this natural energy that surrounds your body is dangerous for me and for my space-time jutsus."

"Nature is a beautiful thing, pure, which should remain the same way as it was created. Space-time jutsus cause disturbances in its balance, but if a force greater than the one that causes the disturbance is exerted, then the balance returns back to normal. That's why jutsus that use natural energy are the most effective in fighting your skills." Nawirama clarified, although it was of his understanding that Madara knew this better than anyone.

"Purity of nature, the expected answer coming from a Senju, even though this is just a clash of Yin and Yang chakras." The annoyed Madara stated. "Overall, your jutsus applied to mine cause me to be dragged back into this dimension."

"Which means that you'll have to stop using those jutsus and start fighting me for real." Nawirama challenged his opponent, hoping for him to bite the bait.

"I hope you have the notion that I can't let you leave this place alive, since you know the secret of how to counter my abilities, little boy." Madara shook his finger as he spoke. "It's good that you also know that I know how to counter both your skills and your eyes."

_"Geez, I'm starting to think I shouldn't have pissed him. It's too hard for me to control Apala. I need to finish him fast or hold on until I can force him to do what I want... How is it going to be?"_

"Let's start then." Madara playfully announced, before disappearing in a swirl. Nawirama's eyes immediately found the opening of a new portal and, with a new Body Flicker, Nawirama stepped again between Naruto and Madara. The punch enhanced by natural energy didn't hit its target, as Madara left the portal already in intangibility mode.

_"Shit, is coming for me again!" _Naruto struggled with the decision of trying to counter the Akatsuki leader or trusting in Nawirama.

"I won't let..." Nawirama immediately turned to stop Madara but, as he did, his abdominal region was struck by the latter's back elbow strike.

_"Eh, I guess I was worried for nothing." _Madara thought, a smirk forming behind his mask. Using a Body Flicker of his own to make his movements faster, Madara put Nawirama in a three-quarter facelock, so he could have enough leverage to do a backflip, kicking Naruto in the face and landing behind Nawirama in one single motion. "I can't allow the two of you to be using natural energy at the same time, now can I?"

"Bastard!" Nawirama aimed for a kick but Madara countered with five successive backhandsprings, so he could gain some distance from his opponent. As he finished the last one, Nawirama was already in front of him to attempt a new blow, but the ground where he was standing suddenly softened and he lost his balance. Expecting Madara to capitalize on this situation, Nawirama shifted his arms into a defensive position, but Madara simply warped. A new portal opened, still in front of him, much further away. _"What? He used Hiding Like a Mole only to gain some distance? What is he preparing?"_

_"He's losing..." _Naruto nervously thought. Nawirama stood and rushed again, aiming a punch to the portal. To both Konoha shinobi's surprise, the blow hit the swirling pattern, causing the natural energy to clash with Madara's chakra. Instead of Madara being drawn from that space-time opening, a new portal opened right behind Nawirama, with the Akatsuki leader coming out from it to attack. "Watch out!"

"Adamantine Power: Mokusa" Nawirama shouted and the golden glow surrounding his body increased in intensity. Madara hastily stopped and thought about using his intangibility. Knowing it would only slow his future actions, he decided not to use it. All the natural energy that enveloped Nawirama's body quickly expanded into a small dome that was released in an explosion. Madara extended his right hand forward, before being pushed back by the explosive force of the natural energy.

"Did I get him?" Nawirama asked to himself, since smoke as covering him by all sides because of his last attack. Using his Zennogan, Nawirama quickly got the answer. "Shit! Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu"

"A Senju using a move so closely related to the Uchiha? My my..." Madara made himself heard through the smoke cloud that was covering him. Then, a strong column of wind made it disperse and put out the large fireball spat by the Senju shinobi.

"What? A Wind Style jutsu putting out a Fire Style one?" The surprised Nawirama questioned. With the smoke cleared, he saw what Madara was holding in his hand: a large gunbai, about 3/4 of his height and about his width, with the pole being twice that length.

"Not that simple. The winds created by this war fan can cut chakra apart, which means any form of chakra-based attack will be nullified. That's what happened to both your Fireball Jutsu and your Mokusa." Madara explained, causing Nawirama's eyes to widen. "Yes, I could've been using it since the beginning to erase your Apala and stop your increased battle power but you were being too fast for me be able to even summon it."

"And since I need a bit of time to gather natural energy, you will stop me from doing it midway with that fan of yours." Nawirama took a deep breath as he evaluated his options. "If your fan cuts through chakra, that only leaves Taijutsu."

"Which you can't use properly." Madara informed, shocking his opponent by doing so. "Yes, I noticed. The range of your vision field has been decreasing drastically. I know that's one of the consequences of using that Zennogan, but I never expected it to happen this fast. While you managed to follow my movements and counter me quite successfully in the beginning, I've been able to attack you from behind for quite awhile. Even though you expected my last attack and countered with Mokusa, you can't go on like this for much longer."

"Eh, I guess it's my own fault." Nawirama admitted. "The hate I have for these eyes stopped me from using them. Considering this is one of the few times I've done it, I guess they're not able to stand the strain of a long battle, so...since my vision will only get worse..."

"You're giving them up?" The surprised Madara asked as he saw Nawirama's eyes returning to their normal pattern.

"Yeah...they're a burden I cannot afford to carry while I'm fighting you." Nawirama answered, before assuming a new fighting stance.

**Flashback**

"Say Minato, if by any chance you become Hokage, would you consider it? Would you consider...to bring me back to Konoha?"

"Why do you want to be a shinobi that much?" Minato questioned.

"Why? Well, I...I'm sick of being a burden. For mom, for neechan...They didn't need this. They could be in the village like everyone else, if it wasn't..." Nawirama trailed off, with tears filling his eyes. "I want...I want to..."

**End of Flashback**

Nawirama attempted a punch from the right side, but Madara took a step back to dodge. The Konoha Jounin followed with a spinning kick, from which Madara ducked out. Jabs, uppercuts, roundhouse kicks, spinning kicks, nothing hit Madara. He was reading through everything Nawirama did and, even though he was carrying his gunbai on his right hand, Madara was able to block or dodge every blow.

"Right punch, left roundhouse, right spinning kick, headbutt, right rising kick, right spinning punch, trip, face first to floor!" Madara mocked his opponent by saying everything he was about to do. He even dared to say his own counter, the trip after the spinning punch, that made Nawirama fall face first into the rocky floor of the chamber. The Zennogan user furiously stood, only for Madara to drive the tip of the gunbai's pole into his stomach, taking his breath away. A rising motion made that same tip strike Nawirama in the jaw, making him lose his balance. "Giving up already?"

"Not a chance!" Nawirama shouted but as soon as he took one step, Madara hit him with a spinning kick to the face, immediately followed by a horizontal swing of his gunbai that hit his opponent's upper body. As if that impact wasn't enough, the fan released a powerful column of wind that sent Nawirama flying and crashing against one of the walls of the chamber. As his body was still falling towards the ground, Madara unleashed a new wind blast that sent Nawirama back against the wall again, this time making part of the wall crumble down on him.

**"**You sure have potential, boy, and you're already quite skilled. If you had better eyes, which you could have through training, you could have given me a hard time. It seems to me that you don't have much battle experience. That was your downfall." Madara told to the nearly unconscious Nawirama, who was almost completely covered by rocks. "It seems to me that Naruto is almost ready to enter Sage Mode. I'll finish you after I deal with him."

_"Damn it, he's coming. C'mon, I'm almost there..."_ Naruto silently pleaded for more time, as he saw Madara coming nearer and nearer.

_"Shit...Naruto, I'm sorry...I should've been able defeat him...or at least make him waste more chakra..." _Nawirama tried to look up, but his body wasn't answering to him.

_"C'mon! C'mon! C'mon! Co..." _Naruto's eyes finally changed into their Sage Mode form and he stood. "Finally, I...**"**

"You what exactly?" Madara asked as he waved his gunbai. The winds cut through the chakra enveloping Naruto and dispelled his Sage Mode, much to the Jinchuriki's shock. "You certainly heard me earlier, didn't you? This fan cuts through chakra. Without it, the natural energy enveloping you is released."

"But the natural energy only blends with chakra when its inside my body." Naruto revealed. "How can your winds have cut through what's inside me?"

"I know how it works. See this?" Madara asked while he pointed to his right eye. "My Sharingan. With it I can see how this Sage Mode of yours is working. Unlike the Adamantine Powers, you mix the natural energy with chakra inside of your body, true, but there's still an aura that surrounds your body. By blowing that aura away, I disrupted the balance inside of your body. Believe me, I've fought natural energy users before, I know it's a lot harder to keep it balanced."

"So it was all for nothing?" Naruto asked, while he stared to his fallen team leader, on the other side of the room.

"I told you, Kyuubi Jinchuriki, today I win." Madara remembered, while he closed the distance between them.

_"N-Naruto..."_

**Flashback**

_"What was that noise?" _Nawirama thought as he stared into the woods, that were located only a 100 meters away from them. Both him and Shizune were in front of their house when they heard the sound of tree branches being broken in quick succession.

"Niichan..." Shizune worriedly called her cousin.

"Go inside and tell ma." Nawirama ordered and Shizune hesitantly obeyed. While he readied a kunai on his hand, Nawirama was able to see four figures coming out of the forest. "I knew it wasn't a good idea to remain in a place so close to the border. There's a war going on, damn it..."

"Is this the place, taicho?" A man with red markings on his face asked to his team leader, a blond man, younger than the first one. In the team, there were also a ninja hound, a large man with purple markings on his face and a pale-eyed man who was injured and was being carried by the larger one.

"Yeah. We'll have Tsunade heal your injuries before we return." The team leader confirmed while they walked closer to her place. When they reached it, a little boy was standing in front of the house, waiting for them. "Oh, hey kid!"

"Don't 'hey kid' me! Identify yourself!" Nawirama demanded, surprising the Konoha platoon.

"Is that really needed?" The man with red markings asked.

"Who knows if you haven't tortured the real guys from Konoha and traded places with them?" Nawirama countered, causing the hound-accompanied shinobi to sigh. The kid then pointed his kunai to the blond leader. "So why don't you prove to me that you're the real Minato Namikaze?"

"Well, if you insist..." Minato sighed while he drew one of his customized kunais, before launching it in the direction of the kid's head. Nawirama simply moved his head slightly to his left side to avoid the blade and, a second after, he felt Minato's hand on his right shoulder, causing his eyes to widen. "Geez, there's no way to deny it..."

"What's going on?" Tsunade asked as she came outside, with Shizune by her side. She saw her eldest son with his right hand on the younger one's shoulder and twirling a kunai on the other hand. "Is that you, Minato?"

(...)

"So yeah, we're in a good way." Minato guaranteed to his mother. "We're planning to blow up the other villages' access to food provisions. It will take some time to plan things out, but we have Shikaku after all. Things will end up working out."

"That's good to know." Tsunade told to her son, but she seemed to be a bit upset. "Was it really needed to bring those three?"

"Didn't have a choice. We met some Kumo shinobi on the way here and Hizashi ended up injured." Minato remembered. "Oh, before I forget, have you finished Sandaime-sama's last request?"

"Here." Tsunade simply answered while she threw a scroll to him. "The last poison discoveries I made regarding Sunagakure's poisons, their recipes and the antidotes. I was going to send it tomorrow anyway."

"This sure will be useful. Thanks, ma." Minato thankfully said. His brother kept on looking at him from all angles. "Something wrong, midget?"

"Shut it! I'm still in growing age!" The upset Nawirama shouted, but quickly turned serious. "You don't have even a scratch."

"Well, I guess I was lucky." Minato modestly said, but Nawirama wasn't convinced.

"Lucky to find weak guys."

"Oh no, in that I wasn't lucky at all. They were pretty strong." Minato assured.

"How strong?" Tsunade was the one to ask this time, causing Minato to sigh.

"Kage strong." Minato relutanctly admitted. Both mother and brother stared at eachother with their eyes wide open.

"You fought the Raikage and won without a scratch?" The incredulous Nawirama asked.

"Well, it wasn't really a victory. Just stalled him and his brother long enough for us to flee. Then, Hizashi..."

"Not only the Raikage, but the Hachibi's Jinchuriki too?" Tsunade asked in the same way as her younger son. "Gosh, I really don't know what Sarutobi-sensei is waiting for to nominate you."

"Well, it's not like I want to be Hokage. I was given my first Genin team not so long ago and they're all younger than usual. I actually like the idea of being a Jounin leader better." Minato admitted.

"Gosh, just go and be Hokage already." Nawirama stood from his chair and went in the door's direction. When he reached it, he stopped for awhile. "Perhaps then I'll have a chance of being a shinobi."

(...)

"Bye, kid. I'll come to visit you when things calm down a bit." Minato assured to his half-brother, who was staring down to the floor.

"Sorry about earlier, about my attitude." Nawirama apologized but didn't lift his head. "Say Minato, if by any chance you become Hokage, would you consider it? Would you consider...to bring me back to Konoha?"

"Why do you want to be a shinobi that much?" Minato questioned.

"Why? Well, I...I'm sick of being a burden. For mom, for neechan...They didn't need this. They could be in the village like everyone else, if it wasn't..." Nawirama trailed off, with tears filling his eyes. "I want...I want to..."

"If I was the Hokage right now, I wouldn't allow you to be a shinobi." Minato revealed to his brother's shock. "It sounds like you only want it so you can feel better. That isn't the way, Nawirama. You need to find your Will of Fire. Only in that situation, I would allow you to become a shinobi."

"Will of Fire?" The confused Nawirama asked.

"Yes, the Will of Fire. Something every Konoha shinobi should have. The burning desire to love, believe, cherish and fight for the village's sake and for its future." Minato put one hand on his brother's shoulder. "The reason why mom left the village to protect you. The reason why Sandaime, even though it pained him, issued the order for you to be taken away. For you, who aren't a burden. For you, who are also the future."

"Will of Fire, huh?" Nawirama pondered and then wiped his tears. "Do you have it, brother?"

"Sure have." Minato nodded and Nawirama smiled softly before delivering a powerful stomp to his brother's left foot. "AAAAHH! What the hell was that for?"

"If you have the Will of Fire, if you want to protect everyone, just accept to be Hokage when the time comes!" Nawirama shoved an accusatory finger into his brother's chest, even though he had to jump to do so. Minato's eyes widened slightly. "Then, when you're Hokage, make sure you bring me back, because now I really want to find my Will of Fire!"

**End of Flashback**

"Time to go, Naruto." Madara announced, as Naruto's back hit the chamber's wall. He had nowhere to go.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu" Naruto shouted out of desperation. With a swing of his gunbai, Madara created a wind column that destroyed the 20 clones created by Naruto in one shot. From the cloud of smoke created by destroyed clones, Naruto darted towards Madara with his arm stretched forward, a Rasengan of the palm of his hand. However, Madara swung his fan once again, this time like a baseball bat, and took Naruto's Rasengan out of his hand, sending it through the roof. Disarmed, Naruto was kicked back against the wall.

"I guess I'll have to beat you a bit before we go..." Madara pondered, before lifting his fan above his head. Before he could unleash a new attack from it however, Nawirama came from behind him and delivered a natural energy enhanced chop to the gunbai's pole, breaking it in two. "How?"

"That thing's hard as hell!" Nawirama complained, before jumping and delivering a powerful punch to the rest of the gunbai, breaking it into tiny pieces.

"You..." Madara angrily hissed as he stared into Nawirama's blue eyes. His Zennogan had been activated once again and his body was emanating that golden glow as well. "I thought you had given up on that burden."

"This isn't a burden!" Nawirama corrected his earlier statement, as he pointed to his own eyes. "This is something I'll have to use to protect the ones precious to me. To protect my Will of Fire!"

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Madara's Cursed Will

-nawirama13


	23. Madara's Cursed Will

**Author Notes:** First of all, I've added a few important links to my profile. That list includes a link to my DeviantArt account. There I'll post some drawings I'm making to illustrate this fanfic's characters. I've already posted two of the ANBUs Towa and Komachi, plus two others of Sasuke and Suigetsu as they will appear in the next arc. As I'm not so good in describing one's attire, you guys should really look into this.

This chapter's a lot different than usual. There will be many information revealed and I'll let out some loose ends to develop in the future, so be focused as you read it. If there's something you don't understand, either speak about it on a review or in a PM, so I can clarify it.

The title was changed at the last second. Not "The Mole", but...

* * *

Chapter 23 - Madara's Cursed Will

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright, Hinata?" Sakura asked yet again, despite having already confirmed that the heartbeat of the Hyuga heiress was normal again.

"Yes." Hinata assured once more. If someone else was in Hinata's position at that moment, that someone would be annoyed for sure with so much insistence. "We must hurry."

"You heard her. Lead the way, Hinata." Kakashi asked for and Hinata immediately darted towards the hideout's direction, being followed by the other five shortly after. "Start thinking about what to do, Shikamaru."

"There's nothing to think about this troublesome situation." Shikamaru immediately answered, causing everyone to look at him by the corner of their eyes. "He's Madara Uchiha. He has a seemingly unbeatable space-time ninjutsu that prevents us from capturing or even hitting him. There's not much we can do."

"But there is something, right? You said seemingly unbeatable." Sakura hopefully stated. Shikamaru sighed, seemingly disappointed.

"According to Kakashi-sensei's reports, his own Mangekyo Sharingan seems to be able to stall him. Unfortunately, that would only be useful if we had someone with a good long-range attack." Shikamaru started.

"Your shadows won't do?" Choji questioned.

"They're too slow. He'll dodge Kakashi-sensei's jutsu and make it absorb my shadows. Besides, that's exactly why it has to be a long range one. You don't want to get caught in sensei's Kamui, right?" Shikamaru rhetorically asked. Choji and Sakura, who had witnessed the jutsu first hand, gulped after imagining the scene. "Barriers delay space-time ninjutsu, but none of us is skilled at that and we would still need a good sensor around."

"And I'm still too fresh at that..." Ino mumbled, thinking that she could have started to learn her clan's sensory jutsus earlier.

"Finally, and this is yet to be proved, there's a small chance Naruto's senjutsu can do the trick." Shikamaru continued.

**Flashback**

"Let's end this...Madara!"

"Gaara-kun..." Kakashi mumbled before he started to feel the sand below him shaking. Surprisingly, Gaara didn't seem to be expecting that. A large amount of sand was raised and from it came Naruto, orange markings around his yellow eyes. Shocking was the size of the sphere of chakra in his hand. "Oh my..."

"Sage Art: Super Odama Rasengan" Naruto slammed the huge sphere of chakra into Madara's body. A loud explosion occured, causing the sand pile to crumble almost completely.

**End of Flashback**

"Even though it barely hit Madara, Naruto's Sage Mode Rasengan was still able to take part of his mask." Kakashi remembered. "I first thought that Madara warped slower that time due to his chakra levels being low at the moment, but lately I've been thinking about a certain influence of his natural energy."

"So the best way to save Naruto...is through Naruto?" Sakura ended up asking.

"The problem with that possibility, which is already slim if true, is that Madara must be aware of that as well. Even if we try to help, Madara won't let Naruto make use of Sage Mode. Plus, we don't know Naruto's state. He may already be incapacitated or worse." Shikamaru heavily sighed and, only then, noticed the angry look in Sakura's face and the worried one in Hinata's. "By worse I mean put in a genjutsu and taken away."

"C'mon, Shikamaru! You said there's not much we can do. Doesn't that mean we can do something?" Ino angrily spoke. "Make use of your 200 plus IQ and stop worrying them, damn it!"

"I'm just saying things as they are. Troublesome women..." Shikamaru inaudibly whispered the last two words. "The only thing I believe we can do, is to force Madara to retreat."

"That's the great idea?" Ino asked in desbelief.

"Would you let me explain?" The annoyed Shikamaru countered and she ended up nodding. "Since we can't capture him or defeat him, we can only back him against the wall."

"I still don't get it." Choji interrupted. "If we could do that, wouldn't we be able to capture him or defeat him?"

"Not quite the same, Choji. There's no way to defeat or capture Madara if he keeps on escaping our attacks, but..." Shikamaru finally let out a confident smirk. "...by escaping, Madara has to use chakra and if he uses too much chakra..."

"There will be a point he won't be able to escape anymore!" Sakura realized and Shikamaru nodded.

"Impressive thinking, Shikamaru." Kakashi complimented. "You want us to bombard him with our attacks and force him to waste chakra, until he was only the enough quantity to escape one last time."

"I believe he won't risk himself with such low chakra levels, so that's what I'm expecting him to do. If he was a fool, we would even be able to do what Choji said, capturing or even kill him perhaps." Shikamaru's expression then darkened once more. "I only see a couple of problems with that. First is that neither me, Choji, Kakashi-sensei, nor Hinata are at 100% and it's sure to assume Naruto and Nawirama-san aren't as well. The second problem resides in Madara's other ocular ability, the one of turning us against eachother."

"As for the latter, an emotional shock may release you from the illusion. It worked with the Kages." Kakashi remembered.

"And for the first point you made, even if we have to exceed our limits, we'll take Naruto out of that hideout with us." Choji added, causing everyone to cheer up immediately, except for Shikamaru whose expression darkened even more.

"Choji, I forbide you." Shikamaru's words were close to a hiss, that shocked everyone around him. "You won't use those pills again, damn it!"

"What's wrong, Shikamaru?" Choji asked calmly and with a huge grin on his face. Sakura initially thought it was the same as one of Sai's fake smiles. "Didn't we make a promise? Didn't we promise to help Naruto, Sakura and Ino to get Sasuke back? To help them and protect them while they do so? Naruto is in that situation because he went after Sasuke, so we have to do our all to help Naruto and protect him."

"If you remember that, then you remember what we promised if one of us fell, don't you?" Shikamaru immediately countered. "Do you want to create a cycle of hatred and revenge for nothing, Choji?"

"What will you hate if I destroy him with one hit? Madara is the biggest obstacle in our way to reach Sasuke, so if there's a chance to take him out, wouldn't you do it?" Choji asked, while he raised one fist to illustrate his point. Ino just looked away to the other side and Shikamaru, who opened his mouth to answer, decided not to do it.

**Flashback**

Some time had passed since they both left Ino's house, after Choji went there to take her to the Hokage announcement. She didn't say a word since then and Choji didn't knew what to do. It was so difficult for him to see her like that. Every since they learned what was happening to Sasuke she had been with a huge depression. Choji tried to support her in every way he could but it wasn't working. Perhaps if he had the guts before, he could have avoided this.

"You really like him don't you?" Choji eventually asked. Ino slowly lifted her head and turned to him. Her eyes were sore from all the nights crying for Sasuke. She stared at him and saw the sad smile in his face. "I'm going to tell you the truth Ino, I hate that bastard. Everything he has done has hurt you and our friends." Ino turned her head down once again as her eyes were starting to get wet. "But if that makes you happy, I'll do everything I can to bring him back. Even if it costs my life." Ino looked again to Choji and this time she couldn't hold her tears.

"Ch-Choji...th-thank you." Ino sobbed before hugging Choji, whose sad smile came back once again.

"It's alright. I promise we'll get him back."

**End of Flashback**

"Choji..."

"Do you think they can hold Madara until we reach them, Kakashi-sensei?" Choji asked to the Sharingan user as soon as Ino started to speak. He understood what Ino was about to say, but he was still willing to keep his promise.

"Nawirama has a great amount of chakra." Kakashi admitted, agreeing in changing the subject slightly. "Maybe if we're lucky, he has been doing what we just planned."

_"Choji, you've made your choice, haven't you?" _Shikamaru thought as he stared into the back of his best friend. _"You've found a reason that justifies bringing Sasuke back. Even if things go wrong, even if one of us dies, you'll make sure to bring him back, won't you? Just to make the loudmouth happy, you'll try to stop the cycle of hatred. Tsk...I guess I would do the same if I were in your shoes. Damn women are so troublesome..."_

* * *

"Will of Fire?" Madara asked before he erupted in laughter. "Do you really believe in that crap? Oh, wait...You're a Senju, of course you do."

"I confess I had a hard time in finding it." Nawirama sadly admitted, as he remembered being refused to return to the village multiple times. "But yeah, I found my Will of Fire and I firmly believe in it."

"So tell me, young Senju, is it really worth it? Is it worth it to love your village and its people? To fight for them? To cherish them?" Madara questioned and Nawirama seemed a bit surprised at first. The fact was that he was actually struggling to find an answer.

**Flashback**

"So...I'm a freakin' Jounin now and I've never been on a freakin' mission." Nawirama complained as he kept on walking with his hands behind his head. His mother closely followed him, her right eyebrow twitching furiously.

"Six months ago, they evaluated your leading skills at the Chunin Exams. What you pulled on your match against Shikaku was exactly what is wanted for a Chunin. This time, Minato evaluated your battle skills, which are enough to become a Jounin, even though I'm against it since you don't have enough battle experience." Tsunade explained one more time. "In case you can get back to the village someday, you'll be able to perform high level missions from the start."

"I'll throw a huge party when that day arrives." Nawirama mumbled. "I mean, Orochimaru left the village a year ago."

"Didn't Minato tell you just awhile ago? Even though our main worry back then was Orochimaru, there's still the Uchiha and Hyuga clans to worry about. The Uchihas would ask for your execution the moment they knew." Tsunade remembered. "Besides, after we thought about it, it's just too weird that the leader of the ANBU Root Division, that rat Danzo, was the only one in favor of you staying in the village. Plus, we're still not totally sure if that girl Anko isn't in cahoots with Orochimaru and..."

"Ma..." Nawirama interrupted his mother, as he felt a powerful and foul chakra coming from Konoha. In fact, a second later, Tsunade had already turned in that direction. "Isn't that...the chakra of what's inside Kushina-neechan?"

"The seal has considerably weakened, but nothing should've happened yet. It's a week too soon for it to..." Tsunade's eyes widened as her son darted towards the village. "Nawirama!"

"Like I would let you stop me from helping this time!" Nawirama shouted back as he continued to run in Konoha's direction.

(...)

"No way..." Nawirama mumbled as he stood before the huge crater in the centre of the village. The Kyuubi had disappeared awhile ago, but only now did he reach the battlefield. On the centre, there were half a dozen people surrounding something. He knew he couldn't do a thing anymore and that it was risky for him to be seen, but he had a feeling he should go there.

"Someone's coming." One of the present ANBU said as he noticed the young boy running towards them. As he got closer, all three ANBUs got a hold of him, stopping him from proceeding.

"Hey! What's going on? Where did the fox go?" Nawirama shouted, while he tried to get himself free from the older men's grip.

"How did you get out of Shinku Yuhi's barrier?" A second ANBU inquired. From behind the ANBUs, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head slightly to look at the scene, before standing up.

"Let him pass." The retired Third Hokage ordered. The ANBUs immediately obeyed and Nawirama stared in his direction. What caught his eyes wasn't the old man, but the two pairs of legs laying on the ground behind him, the rest of their bodies hidden from view by Hiruzen's figure. There were two people there, either injured or dead. "You three go and raise a barrier around the crater. I don't want anyone else to reach this place. Only Tsunade is allowed to come through, I'm sure she'll come right away."

"Hai." The three masked men nodded and immediately left to form a perimeter around the area, without asking any questions.

"You've grown since I last saw you in April's Chunin Exams. About half an inch, I think." Hiruzen tried to lighten the situation, but Nawirama didn't take his eyes from what was behind the Third Hokage. Realizing that, Hiruzen advanced in his direction and put both his hands on his shoulders. "Nawirama-kun..."

"I'm not stupid. You wouldn't let me stay if it wasn't something related to me..." Nawirama was trying his best to not cry in that situation. "I felt Kushina-neechan...the chakra of what was inside of her, from far away...that would only be possible if that thing came out."

"You shouldn't see them, Nawirama." Hiruzen stated as the young boy tried to push his hands away. Surprisingly, Hiruzen's strength was much more than what one would expect from his old body. "Let's wait for your mother."

"No! Let me..." Nawirama managed to shift his head into a position that allowed him to see beyond Hiruzen, before his eyes widened as much as they could. Hiruzen sighed in defeat and released him. Now that he had seen it, there was no point in holding him. Nawirama slowly walked towards the corpses, his mouth open but no sound coming from it. Near the corpses, Homura Mitokado was preparing a large scroll to seal them, so no one would see the bodies. Koharu Utatane was about to lift their arms, but stopped as she saw the kid coming closer. Looking away from Nawirama, the female adviser stood and went to Homura's side.

Nawirama wasn't surprised by seeing who laid dead in front of him. He had been sure of who they were since Hiruzen allowed him to stay. She, with long bright-red hair that reached her calves. He, with spiky blond hair and wearing the regular Konoha attire. Both, hugged against eachother and with smiles on their faces.

Nawirama wasn't surprised by seeing their bodies covered in blood, the result of something huge piercing the abdominal region of both Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze. Hiruzen had tried to prevent him from seeing the enormous holes in their bodies, but Nawirama didn't really care at the moment.

What surprised Nawirama was what was under their arms. They weren't really hugging eachother. They were hugging their newborn son. Unusually small, due to him being born a week earlier than he should, with his father's blond hair and strange whisker marks on his cheeks that surely came from what was inside of his mother. He was peacefully sleeping, without a worry in the world.

Nawirama decided to pick him, so he carefully took Kushina and Minato's arms away. Only then did he notice the seal glowing in his nephew's belly, before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Hiruzen's face was covered in tears as he stood by his side. Nawirama realized immediately what that child's future would be. Taking the baby into his arms, he finally let out the tears he had been holding since he arrived.

**End of Flashback**

"What can I say, Madara? I haven't been an active shinobi, so it's kinda hard to describe it, but..." Nawirama looked away towards Naruto for awhile before continuing. "While I was on the shelf, I wasn't able to protect the ones I cared about. That pained me a lot. I felt completely useless...But now, I can do that! The feeling of being able to help the ones I love, to protect them...it's amazing! It's what's giving me strength to continue to fight!"

"Love, friendship...what is that worth in the end? What is that worth in our world?" Madara questioned with his arms stretched to both sides of his body. "Let's put it this way...Imagine that the shinobi world is at complete peace. No wars, no conflicts. Everyone lives under that philosophy of love and friendship...Then, there's this mission where shinobi from village A is sent on a mission to retrieve some important documents. During the mission, he finds shinobi from village B who was sent on the same mission. Since shinobi villages depend on being hired for missions, their shinobi must guarantee the success of those missions. So, shinobis A and B engage in battle for the documents, with shinobi A killing shinobi B."

"Your point?" Nawirama asked.

"Love turns into hatred, hatred into vengeace and that vengeance will generate even more hatred. It won't stop!" Madara waved his hands as he explained. "I've lived for over a century, boy! I've seen it happen time and time again! It still happens today! Love isn't the answer to peace! Only through force and by showing your strength can you achieve it!"

"War is your answer to peace? It sounds more like you just want to dominate the world!" Naruto shouted furiously.

"You accuse us of following a love philosophy that leads to hatred, but isn't your own called Curse of Hatred?" Nawirama remembered the much older shinobi. "Doesn't that tell you something?"

"Foolish boys, you're still too fresh... It's called Curse of Hatred because it is the Uchiha clan's fate to hate and to be hated by whoever doesn't agree with this belief. Once more, a result of the Will of Fire brought by the Senju clan...Since they had the power after Konoha was built, they oppressed the Uchiha clan because our ideals weren't the same. I warned my people before I made the pact of peace with Hashirama, but my words were eventually forgotten..."

"What do you mean by that?" Nawirama spoke.

"Back then, things were a lot different. There weren't shinobi villages. Konoha was the first, after all...There were only shinobi clans. Every clan travelled around the countries, searching for missions to assure their sustenance. Of course, with so many clans doing that, rivalries were bound to happen. The biggest was, without a doubt, between the Uchiha and the Senju clans, especially since we shared common ancestors that didn't see eachother eye to eye..."

"That thing you told me about the two sons of the Sage of the Six Paths?" Naruto asked, as he learned about the origins of the Uchiha and Senju clans when he was in the Land of Iron.

"Sage of the Six Paths?" Nawirama turned in surprise to Naruto and then back to Madara. "Do you really believe in that myth?"

"Want to know why I accepted the truce with Hashirama?" Madara asked, after ignoring Nawirama's disbeliefing question. "Because I actually had a Will of Fire back in the day."

"What?" Both Konoha shinobi asked in unison.

"Oh yes, I had. I loved my clan. I would give everything for each of my comrades back then...So, after seeing so many of them die in skirmishes against the Senju clan, I had to accept it, but..." Madara then closed his right hand tightly into a shaking fist. "Hashirama tricked me! He didn't fulfill his part of the deal!"

"That's hard to believe..." Nawirama stated.

"The deal was that the leaders of both clans would rule Konoha together! That's how it was for awhile, until Hashirama sold his love speech to the other clans! The Hyugas who hated us even more than they hated the Senjus, the Akimichis and Aburames that were in the village from the beginning, the Yamanakas and Inuzukas who had just been accepted into the village...Everyone united to give all the powers to Hashirama, in the form of the Hokage position, making him the First!"

"You said you had a Will of Fire back then, but it doesn't look like it." Nawirama interrupted. "Even as you speak now, you seem more upset about not being given power."

"I had it towards my clan. Not towards the village who completely disrespected us after Hashirama was made Hokage. And it wasn't the lack of administrive power that bothered me." Madara stopped for a bit, before continuing. "Afterwards, we started to be given less missions each day that passed. That wasn't good for my clan, again because of its sustenance. We used to complete the missions efficiently, even if that meant leaving someone behind or taking every obstacle out of our way. It had been like that even before the village system. Of course, they didn't like our methods... They neglected our clan to blackmail us, to force us to have a change of attitude. They hated what we were and we hated what was being done to us. The Curse of Hatred was running through each and every member of the Uchiha clan at that time, but then..." Madara pointed an accusatory finger towards Nawirama. "The Namikaze Clan appeared to make things worse!"

"Namikaze?" Naruto's eyes immediately widened. "Why is he pointing towards you, Nawirama?"

"My father Dan was from the extinct Namikaze clan, a clan formed by rejects of both the Uchiha and Hyuga clans." Nawirama's eyes narrowed as he turned his attention back to Madara. "Which takes me back to you, Madara! You speak of loving your clan and yet you banished some of your people just because they didn't have the Sharingan!"

"I never banished a single person during the time I was the head of the clan!" Madara furiously answered. "The ones who left the clan did it on their own free will, because they felt they were a burden to the clan! Of course, I would never guess that some would eventually mate with Hyugas. I still don't know what they had on their minds to do it...It was my duty to protect my clan's Kekkei Genkai, so I picked up every single one of their descendants who possessed the Sharingan. That didn't sit well with them, so they actually started to preach Hashirama's village-directed Will of Fire to my clansmen, how their life was better than when they were with us...and it worked!"

"It did?" Naruto seemed surprised by hearing that. After hearing Madara speak so many times of how the Curse of Hatred was the Uchiha clan's ideal, it was surprising to hear that they once accepted the Will of Fire.

"Those constant approaches allied to the difficulties my clan was going through made my men surrender. They started to think they couldn't defeat this implemented Will of Fire, so they thought joining it was the best. Before I knew, I found myself being preached by my own clansmen!" Madara angrily continued. "I warned them! I warned them this wouldn't make things better! I warned them they would regret it eventually! But...no one listened. I had warned him this could happen, even before the truce was official, but no one remembered..."

"I was called a lunatic, a fanatic, a man consumed by hate...Soon, I was relieved of my duties as head of the clan. They all turned their backs on me. Even...even my younger brother, the man who gave me his own eyes for the sake of the clan...the clan I loved, the clan I cherished, the clan I sworn to protect..." For a moment, the frustrated way Madara was speaking was actually convincing the two Konoha shinobis. "I dedicated all my life to that clan and I was left with nothing! I was soon indeed consumed by hate...I painted a target on the back of the ones I thought were responsible for my downfall, starting with Seki and Shinju from the Namikaze clan."

"The White Brothers? You were responsible for their rampage?" The shocked Nawirama asked.

"I put them both on a genjutsu and they started to demolish everything in sight. Since there wasn't a prisional facility back then and considering Hashirama's inability of executing two beloved members of his village, the best thing he could do was banish them." Madara explained in a more controlled tone of voice. "As soon as they were out of the village, I went after them and put them back on the same illusion...They only stopped when the Kaguya clan killed them both on the Land of Water a week later."

"You...you bastard! How could you?" Nawirama found himself shaking in anger. The golden aura surrounding his body since the start of this conversation even became a bit unstable for a moment. "You caused the First World War!"

"Wait! He did what?" The shocked Naruto asked.

"The White Brothers' rampage caused a considerable number of victims in each country they passed by. Since they were Konoha shinobi, everyone turned to Shodai for explanations." Nawirama revealed.

"I killed two birds with one stone. Not only did I get rid of the most talented shinobis from that Namikaze clan, I also weakened Hashirama to a great point." Madara was now speaking like his normal self, seeming even a bit proud of what he did. "At the time, I didn't care about the Tailed Beasts like I care today, so I just found a way to take them away from Hashirama's control."

"It is said that Shodai Hashirama had the nine Tailed Beasts trapped in caves reinforced with his Wood Style, where is now located the Hokage Monument. They were his trump card, in case of possible friction with the recently formed elemental villages." Tsunade's son stated.

"You knew of that, so you forced it to happen..." Naruto concluded, while he stared in disgust to Madara. "What about the village? What about your clan? Didn't you care about what could happen to them if a war broke out?"

"What did I tell you at the start of this conversation, Naruto? Love turns into hatred! As far as I was concerned, the Uchiha clan could burn to the ground along with the village they were so fond of at the time! I only failed in defeating Hashirama..." Madara covered the eye hole of his mask while chuckled. "But still, time gave me reason! The war eventually broke out and Hashirama died on it, while no one knew that I had actually survived! The moment Tobirama Senju was nominated Second Hokage, I was given reason! The creation of the Konoha Military Police Force, the offering of estate for all the Uchihas to live together...They were pushed into a corner of the village! Now they remembered, Madara was right! Things were actually worse than they were!"

"The idea of a coup...It was then it started?" Naruto questioned, causing Nawirama's eyes to widen.

_"A coup d'etat?"_ Nawirama thought about the idea. _"It starts to make sense then..."_

"Not quite. I was the one who desperately tried to conviced the. It was the main reason why I was relieved of my clan leader position. However, once they saw I was right, they wished to try it." Madara corrected. "As the war went on, I inflicted a new blow to the village. Kumogakure's Kinkaku Force somehow found the Hokage's position in the battlefield and were able to kill him."

"I guess war was really productive to you, huh?" Nawirama commented, being as disgusted as Naruto was.

"You don't know how much. Tobirama nominated Hiruzen Sarutobi as Sandaime before he died. That gave me an ally in Danzo Shimura." Madara revealed, causing both of his opponents' mouths to open. "I've learned of his capture. He isn't useful to me anymore."

"Old man Danzo was on your side?" Naruto mumbled.

"He wasn't a perfect ally." Madara remarked. "I met him shortly after Tobirama's death, when his team got separated. A young boy who loved his village, but who knew that having power was the best way to protect it. Years later, after his nomination as leader of the Root faction, we started to work together in the shadows. He gave me information about Konoha, while I gave him information about the villages I infiltrated myself in."

"But why?" Nawirama seemed confused. "Why would he help you? While his methods are questionable, his love for the village is..."

"Undeniable, yes. Danzo omitted many intel from me, which includes the birth of one new Zennogan user." Madara again pointed towards Nawirama. "That's why I said it wasn't perfect. As for me, I omitted my true intentions. I limited my revenge plans to the Uchiha clan, which Danzo also saw as an hindrance. Still, he was quite helpful. I asked him to ally with Hanzo of the Salamander, so he could take Nagato to the limit. He even lost his right arm for that cause...creating Pain, a powerful weapon."

"Don't speak of Nagato as a thing!" Naruto furiously shouted.

"I asked him to start a connection with Orochimaru. We were aware of what he was doing and Danzo thought his researches could be of great usefulness to the village. He was the one who told Orochimaru to find Akatsuki if things went wrong." Madara continued to explain, but was soon interrupted.

"Chronologically, what came next was the Kyuubi attack." Nawirama stated. "Was it you? Huh, Madara? Were you the one responsible for it?"

"Here we go again...I wasn't controlling the Kyuubi on that night." Madara repeated what he had said many times before.

"I didn't ask if you were controlling it! I asked if you were the responsible!" Nawirama shouted and Madara's right eye widened before he chuckled.

"Alright, I'll admit. What could happen? He isn't alive anymore and..." Madara spoke to himself before focusing back on Nawirama and Naruto. "Kirigakure isn't of use any longer. I was the one who brought that person into Konoha."

"You wouldn't mean..." Nawirama's frowned deeply. "You were really controlling the Fourth Mizukage! Why?"

"We've been talking for too much time, I don't feel like explaining the motives of those actions. Making things quick, with Danzo's help we both entered the village and caused all that chaos. Even though Danzo wasn't appointed the Fifth at that time, Konoha's superiors started to suspect of the Uchiha clan even more, and eventually..." Madara chuckled again. "Danzo was able to convince the Third to eradicate the Uchiha clan."

"You're the one then..." Naruto shaked in anger. "You're the one who made Sasuke like this..."

"Sasuke wasn't in the plans at the time. He just inherited the Curse that has been following the Uchihas for a long time." Madara took a deep breath after all the talking. "You see now? The accumulated hatred created a monster, but even so, I'm a merciful one. I want this cycle of hatred, this curse to stop, so I'll do what should've been done before. I'll unite everything under my command. I'll create peace by using my power."

"What is the meaning of peace if you can't enjoy it? Do you really believe that is the right way to stop the hatred?" Naruto shouted.

"I once told this to Itachi...People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's how they define reality. But what does it mean to be correct or true? Merely vague concepts...their reality may all be a mirage. They may simply be living in their own world, shaped by their beliefs." Madara repeated the words said years before. "That's what the Will of Fire does to you Konoha shinobi. It takes you to this fantasy world of hope for worldwide peace achieved through incoherent talk and zero sacrifices."

"Then there's nothing more to say, I guess." Nawirama said, before he started to perform some hand seals.

"You're right, there has been enough talk already...Shukuen Amaterasu" As soon as Madara said the first syllable of the jutsu's name, two huge portals similar to the ones used in his space-time jutsu appeared, one in front of Nawirama and Naruto and the other one behind them, both being parallel to eachother. As soon as he said the last syllable, black flames erupted from everywhere, filling the entire space between the portals in less than a second. "Chaos brings reconstruction. I'll destroy Konoha and rebuild it under my leadership! I'll destroy the Will of Fire and make everyone follow the will of Madara Uchiha! And then, there will be no more chaos and no more reconstruction! It will be like that for infinity!"

* * *

-**WIKIA:**

1. Characters:

1.1 Shinku Yuhi - Kurenai's father, his name also means "crimson". The one responsible for the barrier that protected the children during the Kyuubi attack.

1.2 Seki Namikaze and Shinju Namikaze - known as the "White Brothers", they were twins and the only two people in history to have the Zennogan before Nawirama.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Nawirama's Last Resort


	24. Nawirama's Last Resort

**DeviantArt Update:** Kid Asuma and Kizu

* * *

Chapter 24 - Nawirama's Last Resort

* * *

When he woke up, everything around him was darkness. Sasuke slowly raised his upper body, so that he could sit. Touching his face, he realized that what was causing that darkness were the bandages that covered his eyes. Even though he knew the time shouldn't be right to remove them, Sasuke did it anyway, unfolding them and throwing them to the ground. While it didn't hurt, opening his new eyes caused him some discomfort, despite having done so very slowly and carefully. Of course, after he did so, he still needed some time for Itachi's eyes to adjust to the light that surrounded him, even if the only source around was a small candle on top of the only table in the bedroom.

_"Strange...This looks just like..." _Sasuke found himself thinking, as his vision was getting better by the second. The room's boundaries were starting to look familiar to him. The walls, floor and ceiling, all made of wood and with curvilinear patterns._ "Otogakure? No, it can't be..."_

Sasuke stood a bit faster than he should, which caused him a slight dizziness. After all, he had undergone surgery recently and had been lying down for quite some time. Walking slowly, he approached the table, also made of wood. On top of it, in addition to the candle, was a set of folded clothes. It wasn't his regular attire, but a set composed of a blue v-neck sleeveless shirt, body mesh, blue pants, white leg-warmers and a new pair of sandals. Considering that the only piece of clothing on his body were the pants he used in the last battle (torn as a result of it), he relutanctly decided to use them.

"You don't like them? You'll get used to them, eventually." A voice suddenly made itself heard. Sasuke swiftly formed and waved a Chidori Sharp Spear, positioning it just an inch away from the throat of the voice's owner. The man who wore an Akatsuki cloak, with its hood covering his face, had his body still half-merged with the wall behind the table, two meters to Sasuke's left. Under the hood, the man's eyes met Sasuke's, or in this case, Itachi's Sharingan eyes. "Oh? Scary as always, Sasuke-kun..."

"You? Since when are you with Akatsuki?" Sasuke questioned without taking the Lightning chakra spear away from his target. The Sharingan user frowned as he identified who was hiding under the hood. _"I should've killed him back then..."_

"I came back to this organization just some hours ago. There was no way I could refuse Madara's offer." The man answered casually. "Come on now, Sasuke-kun, you're in no condition to exert such an effort. You're shaking and sweating so much... Besides, Madara had so much trouble to gather all of us. He won't be happy if you start killing the new Akatsuki members."

"New members?" Sasuke sounded truly surprised, while he wiped the sweat of his face with his free arm. "How many?"

"Uh, let's see...with me, one...two..." The man used his fingers to count but eventually trailed off. "Quite a few actually. Zetsu's watching over them, since Madara doesn't want anyone to see you for now."

"What are you doing here, then?" Sasuke asked, finally dispersing his Chidori Sharp Spear as he did. The hooded shinobi rubbed his throat that had been so close to be pierced by the sharp chakra weapon.

"You know I can be quite...elusive." The new Akatsuki member remembered. He then took something out of his cloak and threw it to the table. "Here's a new cloak for you. Since you're an Akatsuki member, you should use it and the other clothes as well."

"Hmph." Was Sasuke's only answer. The man chuckled and shook his head.

"_Same as always, Sasuke-kun. It's amazing to see how fast you're adapting to your brother's eyes. You just woke up and yet you were already able to detect me and precisely aim your jutsu._" He thought, before he turned his back on the Uchiha. "I'll be leaving then. I guess I'll use the door this time..."

"Wait." Sasuke said in demanding tone, causing the man to stop and to look over his shoulder. "What's your reason to join Akatsuki? Are you here to kill me?"

"I'm not someone who holds grudges, Sasuke-kun. It just happens that my goals can be achieved a lot easier if I work with Akatsuki. That's what it is." The shinobi clarified, before resuming his walk towards the door. "There's something under those clothes. I guess it belongs to you now."

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet!" Sasuke shouted but his Akatsuki partner didn't look back anymore. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. _"Bastard...What are you plotting?"_

Sasuke eventually shook his head and picked up the first two pieces of cloth. After putting the t-shirt on and over the body mesh, he picked up the pants. Before he could exchange them for the ones he was wearing, he noticed what had been mentioned before. Carefully disposed over the table was a necklace with three metal rings on it. A necklace that, Sasuke knew, had belonged to his older brother.

"Itachi..." Sasuke whispered as he tightly clutched the necklace in his right hand. "I swear to you, those responsible for your suffering will get what they deserve."

* * *

"Shukuen..." As soon as Madara said the first syllable of the jutsu's name, two huge portals similar to the ones used in his space-time jutsu appeared, one in front of Nawirama and Naruto and the other one behind them, both being parallel to eachother. "...Amaterasu"

"Shi..." Naruto didn't have any time to react. As soon as the leader of the Akatsuki said the last syllable, black flames erupted from everywhere, filling the entire space between the portals in less than a second.

"Chaos brings reconstruction. I'll destroy Konoha and rebuild it under my leadership! I'll destroy the Will of Fire and make everyone follow the will of Madara Uchiha! And then, there will be no more chaos and no more reconstruction! It will be like that for infinity!"

"**Naruto..."**

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes opened wide, as he noticed he wasn't inside the underground cave anymore.

"**Listen to me carefully..."**

"If it is just for a brief moment, this jutsu won't kill them, but they won't be able to jump around any longer." Madara stated. As he was about to make the flames disappear, there was a burst of golden light between them. Immediately afterwards, Nawirama jumped off the inferno, his right arm raised to cover his face. He came crashing hard into the ground but, overcoming the initial pain, he quickly got up on one knee and ripped off his right sleeve, which was covered in black flames. "Adamantine Power: Mokusa to push the flames away for a brief moment, which allowed you to jump out of there. I really hate the Senju clan's hidden jutsus..."

"Shit! NARUTO!" Nawirama shouted and stared in fear to the blazing inferno. _"I didn't have the time to jump after Mokusa! I was pushed by...by It!" _

"Oh, I see..." Madara started to chuckle, as he recognized the foul chakra accumulation between his Amaterasu flames. Focusing his right eye into the dark fire, Madara erased every single blaze. There he was, covered in a cloak made of chakra from the Tailed Beast sealed inside him. There it was, covering the body of the Hero of Konoha. _"Victory is mine!"_

"Are you alright, Nawirama?" Naruto asked in a perfectly controlled tone that surprised both older men. The cloak had two tails coming out of it, but there was no sign of the Kyuubi's influence. However, the Jinchuriki's eyes remained closed.

"Is this a trick?" Madara aggressively asked, frustrated because he didn't knew what was going on. "How can you be in control?"

"Could you buy me some more time?" Naruto ignored the Akatsuki leader and directed his attention to Nawirama.

"I guess you'll explain later..." Nawirama stood and worriedly stared to his partner, before he turned his back on Madara and whispered. "I don't know how you're doing it, but don't try to defeat him. Just focus on making him waste chakra."

"So that he goes away, right?" Naruto asked.

"Thinking you can turn your back on me, so that I can't read your lips? You seriously underestimate me!" Madara furiously shouted. "Amaterasu"

"It told me." Naruto added and Nawirama's eyes widened. A chakra arm came out of Naruto's cloak and intercepted the black flames that were about to touch Nawirama's back.

"It?" The shocked Nawirama asked, but shook his head immediately afterwards. "Leave it for later...He already lost a considerable amount of chakra with the space-time jutsus and with that overpowered Amaterasu. I'll hit him with everything I have..."

"What about you?" Naruto asked, while Nawirama finally turned his attention back to Madara.

"Enough, I hope..." Nawirama answered before he charged towards Madara, with a glowing golden sphere in his right hand. "Adamantine Power: Acala"

Madara dodged two Acala thrusts and did a cartwheel to change into a better attacking angle. He then tried a low kick from the right side but Nawirama lifted is left leg, dodging it. Nawirama used the momentum of his left leg to try a kick to Madara's face who blocked it with his right hand. While he held his opponent's leg, Madara tried another low kick, this time to the exposed right leg but Nawirama jumped and used that same one to kick Madara's arm, forcing him to release the grip he had on Nawirama's other lower limb. In the same rotating motion, the midair Nawirama attempted to drive Acala downwards, but Madara grabbed his wrist with both hands.

"You've lost a considerable amount of chakra. You shouldn't use those jutsus any longer." Madara advised, causing Nawirama to frown. "You have to waste a nice amount of it to gather the natural energy together. It's faster than Senjutsu, but since you don't mix it with the chakra inside your body, you can only use it for one or two moves. That means a lot of your chakra goes to waste if you aren't able to hit me."

"Is that why you decided to fight me cleanly? Because you're lacking chakra?" Nawirama countered. As if to say yes, Madara attempted to kick Nawirama in the gut, but the Konoha Jounin grabbed his leg with his free arm. "Are you sure you can risk yourself like this? Without being intangible?"

"I can only use it for a total of five accumulated minutes, which have passed already. I can still warp away, but that takes more time to perform and since you won't allow me, I won't risk to be drawn back to this dimension and be left defenseless for an assault." Madara revealed. The pressure he was making on Nawirama's wrist made him lose control over Acala, which dispersed. Both locked eyes and smirked, one out in the open and the other behind his mask. Nawirama pulled Madara's leg and the latter pulled the first's arm, making them both clash foreheads.

**Flashback**

"**Naruto..."**

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes opened wide, as he noticed he wasn't inside the underground cave anymore. Instead, he was on some familiar sewers and in front of a huge cage.

"**Listen to me carefully..."** The Nine-Tailed Fox came closer to the cage's grid, becoming visible to its Jinchuriki. "**I know we don't see eachother eye to eye, but I want to make a deal.**"

"You? Make a deal with me?" Naruto questioned doubtfully. "From the dealing experience I have with you, I have to say no."

"**Just listen to me first.**" Kyuubi actually sounded desperate. "**We have a common enemy in Madara. If you get caught, you'll die. If I get caught, it won't be much better than dying.**"

"So now that you're in a pinch, you want to team up?" Naruto asked and the Kyuubi relutanctly nodded. "What do you suggest? I bet you want to take over."

"**You're wrong. I was always quite...weak against genjutsu. And considering what the Yondaime did to me, I guess that weakness only got worse, since now I don't possess Yin chakra. While you can't use yours properly, you still have a better chance to resist his genjutsu than I do." **The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox remembered. **"I'll help you, so you can use that Senjutsu of yours."**

"How?" Naruto asked, carefully searching for any slip of tongue from his Biju.

**"The Yondaime's seal is made so that you can have access to my chakra. Even though the seal was reinforced, you're still able to tap on my powers. Thing is, for this to work, you have to allow me to control them, while you remain still." **Naruto's eyes widened at the proposal. **"My chakra is linked to my will, so I'll control it from the inside to protect you. At the same time, you'll keep your consciousness and keep still to gather that natural energy you need."**

"So you want me to trust you?" The hesitant Naruto asked. "Since your chakra and will will be out there, you could take over at any time."

**"Yes, it's about trust. I won't take over, because it doesn't benefit me today. It's the only way. That guy who's with you won't be able to hang on forever." **

"I guess..." Naruto stared down, involved by his doubts. "So how does it work?"

**"Tap on my powers like you used to do and the cloak will start to form. I don't know if my will will inadvertently taint yours, so we'll only use two tails to keep it safe." **Kyuubi explained. **"Then, I want you to keep your eyes closed the entire time."**

"My eyes? Why?" Naruto inquired.

**"The Uchiha's genjutsu is casted through eye contact. To avoid it, just close your eyes." **Kyuubi simply answered. **"You won't need them to gather the energy, right?"**

"No...but how does it work for you? Will you be able to see what's going on?" The confused Naruto insisted on that point.

**"It's true that I share my senses with you. What you hear, I hear. What you see, I see." **The fox agreed. **"While I won't be able to see what's going on, I have a special ability that will be very useful in this situation. I can sense negative emotions, like hate and inner killing intent. That way, I'll always know Madara's position**.** It may not be as accurate as vision, but it is the best way to avoid getting captured."**

"I guess there's no other way..." Naruto admitted. "Just promise me that you won't take over."

**"I thought my promises didn't mean a thing..." **The demon fox actually seemed to be smirking.

"You said it, it's about trust." The jinchuriki remembered.

**"Fine then, I promise not to take over." **Kyuubi vowed after chuckling. **"As for the best way to solve all this battle..."**

**End of Flashback**

Both Madara and Nawirama recoiled after butting heads. Madara's mask cracked, the upper right part of it separating itself from the rest, revealing his Eien no Sharingan. Above his left eyebrow, the flesh on Nawirama's forehead splitted from the impact, making him bleed. While it was just a small cut, the blood mixed with the sweat that covered his face, quickly making the left side of Nawirama's face a crimson mask. They were less than a meter away from eachother when a red chakra claw erupted from the ground between them, missing them narrowly.

_"I guess the Kyuubi doesn't care if it it's me...I better be careful." _Nawirama thought, before making a cross-shaped hand seal. The Konoha Jounin and his three clones started to run in circular motion, with Madara in the center, each of them performing a set of six hand seals at the same time.

_"Ne, Tora, Inu, Ushi, U, Tora...ingeneous." _Madara silently complimented, as he recognized the combination of gestures.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sacred Vortex" The four Nawiramas shouted, just before they spat multiple fireballs towards the centre of the imaginary circle. Since they continued on running at high speed, the fireballs covered all the possible angles from which Madara could escape. Without time to perform a jutsu able to deflect the fireballs, Madara warped away, before he reappeared in the ceiling. He hanged upside down, while he focused a fixed amount of chakra on his feet to avoid falling. At the same time, he started to perform some hand seals of his own.

"Fire Style: Flame Flower" Madara used Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu four times in quick succession, causing four huge flame spheres to fall down on his enemy. The way they were arranged on the fall, truly resembled a flower made of flames. The four Nawiramas performed the same hands seals as Madara, each of them spitting a Fireball Jutsu of their own. All the flame infernos clashed together, causing a loud explosion.

**"It's a shame you can't see what I'm about to pull off..."** Kyuubi seemed to be enjoying itself from behind the cage's bars.

"Would you be quiet? I'm trying to focus." Naruto scolded his Tailed Beast, while he was sitting on the middle of the sewers with his legs crossed and his eyes still closed.

"He dismissed his shadow clones. Trying to gather his chakra back for something big?" Madara wondered, as he watched Nawirama's movements through his chakra flow, since his body remained hidden by the curtain of smoke created by the explosion of the fireballs. He saw Nawirama starting a new set of hands seals, but he suddenly stopped and looked to his right. Feeling something was wrong, Madara looked in the same direction. That was what saved him. A Tailed Beast Chakra Arm stretched in his direction, holding a huge sphere of red spiralling chakra.

**"I think I'll call it...Demon Fox Odama Rasengan." **Kyuubi announced.

"You gotta be kidding!" Naruto barely resisted to the urge of opening his eyes to see what was happening. Continuing on the sewer, he questioned the fox. "How is it possible?"

**"I was there when you learned the jutsu, remember? It isn't that different from my Menacing Ball...Wait a minute, rocks are falling." **Indeed, the ceiling started to crumble with the huge impact of the jutsu used by the Kyuubi. Using the Chakra Arms, the Kyuubi deflected the falling rubble, preventing it from hitting his host. **"Besides, it was through my will you used the Demon Fox Rasengan for the first time, against the Uchiha offspring."**

"Damn..." Nawirama mumbled as he watched the destruction made by Kyuubi's Rasengan. _"He warped again...If the Kyuubi is able to make him waste chakra for awhile, I may able to save enough chakra for that jutsu...It's for sure the best way to force him away. Still, it is already risky for me to use it..."_

"Kyuubi...I liked you so much more when you were a nice obedient pet." Madara hissed as he reappeared on the opposite side of the chamber. Inside its personal cage, the Kyuubi angrily snarled, making the Naruto in the sewers grin in amazement. With over 80% of the ceiling destroyed, the sunlight filled the battlefield. The chakra cloak that enveloped Naruto seemed to be glowing wildly. Nawirama wiped the blood of his face once again. The Akatsuki leader broke off a bit more of his mask, since the broken edge under his right eye was hurting his face ever since Nawirama's headbutt minutes before. "It's a shame. It was the last orange one I had. Those were my favorites..."

_"So what now? Will he go after me or Naruto first?" _Nawirama wondered as he stared to both. The three shinobi were disposed in a large triangle formation. After deciding what to do, Madara warped once again, to reappear behind Nawirama. Knowing that would be the place to strike, Nawirama turned and kicked, but Madara dodged narrowly. However, instead of continuing his attack, Nawirama decided to run in the opposite direction.

"What is this?" The confused Madara asked to himself, before going after his opponent.

_"I need to conserve my chakra for Azusa..." _Nawirama remembered himself, as he rushed towards Naruto. As if the Kyuubi had spoken with him beforehand, another Chakra Arm stretched from the cloak, this time aimed towards Nawirama.

**_"Too bad if he doesn't dodge it. I never promised to keep him safe..." _**Kyuubi kept its thought to himself. However, Nawirama did as expected and dodged to his left side. Madara, was too close to be able to move to the side, so he dodged by jumping. While the claw continued to move forward, the arm of chakra remained under the midair Uchiha. From the original arm, over a dozen others stretched upwards to attack Madara, who was forced to warp. Coming out of the portal, another array of arms came in his direction, forcing him to do it again. And again. And other time. As he appeared from behind Naruto, the two tails from the cloak stretched and made him do it once more.

_"This is bad...I'm wasting too much chakra just in escaping." _Madara's visible eye then widened, as he heard the sound of exploding tags starting to burn up. The former head of the Uchiha Clan disappeared again, this time to escape the exploding tags attached to kunais thrown by Nawirama.

_"We're doing good." _Nawirama let out a relieved sigh. _"Maybe I won't have to use it..."_

"You...are you mocking me?" Madara shouted as he saw what the Kyuubi was preparing. Nine Chakra Arms were coming out of the cloak, each one holding a normal-sized Demon Fox Rasengan.

**"Let's see...Demon Fox Rasentarengan"** The Kyuubi announced its new jutsu.

"If you weren't the beast that destroyed Konoha once before, I would say you're quite a funny one." Naruto said in mocking tone.

**"While I admit I'm no good, I want you to remember that I wasn't acting according to my will on that night." **The Kyuubi aggressively remembered. One of the chakra arms stretched to drive a Rasengan into Madara's body, who was able to dodge it on his own. However, he wasn't able to avoid the second one without his space-time jutsu. While Kyuubi drove all the spiralling spheres, creating huge craters throughout the battlefield, Madara warped some more times.

_"While it's not absolutely necessary to capture the Kyuubi right now, it would be a shame to miss this opportunity." _Madara, who was panting already, glared towards both his opponents.

"Naruto!" A girl shouted from the cave's entrance. As Nawirama and Madara looked towards there, they saw Hinata, sided by Shikamaru and Kakashi.

"Hinata?" The Naruto in the sewers asked. "Is that Hinata? What's she doing here?"

**"Be quiet! Don't throw everything away now that we're so close." **The fox warned its host.

"Grrr...I guess I have no choice." Madara sighed in defeat, before turning exclusively towards Naruto. "I'll let you live for today, but mark my words, I'll punish you both for your insolence someday. Especially you, Kyuubi!"

"What's this?" Nawirama's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Madara disappearing.

"Huh?" Naruto opened his eyes, showing he had entered Sage Mode, since he had a reddish-orange pigmentation around them. However, due to the Nine-Tails' influence, his eyes were red and with slitted pupils, mixed with the Sage Mode's horizontal bar-like pupils. Besides, the chakra cloak continued to surround his body, making him look quite fearsome. "Is he really gone?"

**"Be careful." **The Kyuubi advised. **"I can't sense him any longer, but he may be leading us to a trap. Let's just get the hell out of here!"**

"Yeah, I know." Naruto agreed with the demon resident inside him. Leaving the sewers behind, he started to run in his friends' direction.

"Is it over already?" Sakura asked by the time she arrived with Ino and Choji. She forgot that question soon after, as she saw her friend's appearance. "Naruto?"

"Are you in control...of It?" Kakashi asked what Sakura wasn't being able to.

"That doesn't matter now!" Shikamaru shouted. "Hinata! Naruto! Are there any signs of him?"

"N-no." Hinata, with her Byakugan, didn't see any trace left of Madara's chakra signature.

"Yeah, he seems to have left!" Naruto supported the Byakugan user's report, while he continued to run.

"Then let's get the hell out of here before he comes back!" Shikamaru loudly ordered. Most of them darted back towards the staircase, except for Nawirama who was searching the chamber with his eyes and Hinata who wanted to wait for Naruto to reach them.

Then it happened.

Madara had both his hands clasped around Naruto's neck. His eye meeting Naruto's.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted and started to run towards him. Kakashi and Shikamaru stopped and turned back to see what happened.

_"I knew it! He still had sufficient chakra to warp a couple of times!" _Nawirama thought, already in Body Flicker motion.

"You're mine!" Madara hissed, as the Kyuubi's chakra was burning through his gloves, skin and flesh.

**"Sh-shit! I told you to be careful!" **The Kyuubi roared in its cage. "_**He's already suppressing my chakra! I'm not even able to use the cloak to push him away...**_"

_"I...I can't move my body!" _Naruto thought. He was only able to see Madara's Eien no Sharingan, which seemed to be glowing. The Tailed Beast Cloak was starting to disperse, and even though he was in Sage Mode, Naruto couldn't do nothing to stop Madara from taking him away.

"Now, let's go!" As Madara was about to warp Naruto away, he was kicked in the chest by Nawirama, being projected some good meters away.

"I'm sorry, Naruto..."

"Huh? Wha..." Not even having time to recover from Madara's binding genjutsu, Naruto was kicked in the torso by Nawirama who did so as hard as he could. The impact sent Naruto flying even faster than Madara. As Hinata tried to catch him, the impact sent both back and against Kakashi and Shikamaru, who almost lost their balance when they caught them.

"Take care of him, Kakashi!" Nawirama shouted without turning. As he performed a complex set of hand seals, Nawirama started to join up a great amount of chakra and natural energy. "_I had to take Naruto to a safe distance. Madara won't teleport so close to his fresh opponents! He won't be able to get Naruto! I hope this works..."_

_"Those seals...Not that jutsu!" _Madara showed a truly afraid look in his eye, since he knew very well what would happen if he was hit by it._  
_

"Adamantine Power: Azusa" Nawirama joined both palms together and stretched his arms forward. A large golden halo surrounded the hands of the Senju Clan's descendant, before he released all the gathered chakra and natural energy in the form of a huge beam that only got bigger with each meter it covered.

_"If that hits I'll be completely obliterated!"_ Madara could only use his jutsu three more times. Considering the wide range of the attack, he had no choice but to use Fumetsu Kamui once again. The energy beam completely destroyed not only that chamber, but also the rest of the cave, with all the Konoha shinobi running to find cover. When everyone was already outside the Mountain's graveyard, the natural energy moved upwards and blew off what remained of the ceiling, including the huge skeleton that covered the hideout's entrance. Explosions continued to occur for many minutes after the first impact.

* * *

"Nawirama!...Nawirama!" Naruto continued to shout as he moved throughout the destroyed battlefield. He kept Sage Mode working, just in case.

"Nawirama-san!" Choji helped Naruto in trying to find the Jounin. Not far from them, Shikamaru got dizzy and almost fell to the ground.

"Are you alright, Shikamaru?" Ino questioned.

"Yeah, I think so..." Shikamaru answered, while his face was a bit pale. _"But why am I so tired? It seems I got my energy sucked out."_

"Oh my..." Hinata suddenly brought her hand from her belly, which she had been holding until then, to her mouth.

"What is it, Hinata?" Sakura asked, as she watched her.

"Ma-Madara returned." She revealed while she pointed to her left. While some charged towards that area, no one noticed the tears forming around her eyes.

_"Bastard! Curse you, Senju! Curse you!" _Madara was on his hands and knees, sweating profusely. _"Even though I warped with enough time to spare, even though I thought to be safe...that jutsu nearly brought me back! It was luck! If I wasn't lucky, I would've been dragged to the center of the explosion and burn to the ground along with the hideout!"_

"There he is!" Naruto shouted as he saw Madara's figure.

"CURSE YOU!" Madara's furious scream echoed through the entire valley. He was completely ignoring the Konoha group and looking to the other side. When Naruto stared in the same direction as Madara, he saw Nawirama with his back turned to them and his arms hanging in a strange way.

"Nawirama!" Naruto ran towards his team leader, until he was face to face with him. Despair filled Naruto as he saw how pale Nawirama was, like he had been drained out of life. His eyes semi-open and his body seeming like it would crumble at any second. As Naruto stepped on the same stone as Nawirama was standing, it gave away, making him fall back to the ground. "Nawirama! Hey, Nawirama!"

"Hi-his chakra..." Hinata whispered, catching Sakura and Kakashi's attention, since they were the closest to her. "Every single bit..."

"So what now, Naruto? Will you love me or will you hate me?" Madara asked, while he was now standing on one knee. _"I only have one more Kamui, I better make it count..."_

"Shadow Sewing" Shikamaru shouted. He had taken his time to divide and stretch his shadow and move it through the rocky field. When the time was right, he used them to try to stab Madara from below but the Uchiha saw it with his Sharingan and dodged in time, before backing away to a safe distance.

"Wouldn't it be better to immobilize me?" Madara questioned the Chunin.

"Why try? I believe you could still warp or Amaterasu me. Besides, if I have the chance, I better just kill you." Shikamaru quickly explained.

"Bold. The fact of defeating an immortal sure elevated your ego." Madara stated.

"My ego?" Shikamaru smirked. "Does an egomaniac create an opening for someone else to shine?"

"What?" Madara's eye widened. He realized it too late.

"Sage Art: Rasengan" Naruto drove his jutsu into Madara's torso. This time it didn't go through him. This time he didn't warp. This time it was a hit.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** Unkept Promise

-Nawirama13

* * *

**-WIKIA** (I've been failing a bit on this lately. When I have the time, I'll update every info I've missed in the last chapters.)

1. Jutsu:

1.1 Adamantine Power: Acala - using chakra to control the surrounding natural energy, the user shapes it in a condensed sphere of energy that is to be used like Rasengan. One of the Senju Clan's Hiden Jutsu. "Acala" is sanskrit for immobility.

1.2 Adamantine Power: Apala - using chakra to control the surrounding natural energy, the user uses it to cover and stimulate the body, increasing the user's speed, strength, durability, etc. One of the Senju Clan's Hiden Jutsu. "Apala" is sanskrit for unguarded, meaning the jutsu is better for attack than defense.

1.3 Adamantine Power: Mokusa - using chakra to control the surrounding natural energy, the user makes it surround his body and then releases it in a explosive burst of energy. One of the Senju Clan's Hiden Jutsu. "Mokusa" comes from "Moksa" which is sanskrit for release

1.4 Adamantine Power: Azusa - using chakra to control the surrounding natural energy, the user gathers a large amount of it in his hands, before releasing it in a wide range beam of destruction. One of the Senju Clan's Hiden Jutsu. "Azusa" is sanskrit for consuming, meaning the jutsu consumes everything in its path

1.5 Shukuen Amaterasu - The user creates two parallel space-time portals, with his opponent between both of them. Out of the portals appear Amaterasu flames in large quantities, filling the entire space between them. Exclusive to people who possess the Eien no Sharingan.

1.6 Demon Fox Odama Rasengan - Created by the Kyuubi, it's an Odama Rasengan made with the Kyuubi's chakra. Appeared in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 4. The only difference is that in this story, since its the Kyuubi who uses it when it's only in control of the chakra cloak and not of Naruto himself, the jutsu has to be made with a Tailed Beast Chakra Arm and transported with it.

1.7 Demon Fox Rasentarengan - Created by the Kyuubi. After creating multiple Tailed Beast Chakra Arms from the chakra cloak, the Kyuubi creates a Demon Fox Rasengan in each one. They can be used all at once, or one after the other in a way to corner an opponent.

-Nawirama13


	25. Notice

**Notice**

Unfortunately, I have to announce an interruption in this story. "Naruto Shippuden: Allied Forces vs Akatsuki" will be on hiatus for undetermined time, along with my other stories and projects.

This happens because my life has been turned upside down recently. I wasn't supposed to enter High School (I believe it is how you say it in english...) this year, but now I am. I have to take care of all the paperwork as fast as I can, since the deadline is really close. With driver's license and a bunch of other stuff going on, I'm really out of time and I really don't know when I'll have the opportunity to write again.

It greatly saddens me to do this, but I have no choice. I want to thank everyone who has followed the story up until now, to everyone who has supported me and to everyone who criticized me as well.

I hope to continue this someday. Like they say, never say never.

**Please, don't review this notice.  
**

I'm sorry. Until someday,

-Nawirama13


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